By Muriel Vega on May 19, 2009 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Marisa Tomei and Liv Tyler are on board to star in the remake of 1995's 301/302, a psychological thriller about the relationship between two neighbors in a loft building, according to...

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Liv Tyler

Liv Rundgren Tyler (born July 1, 1977) is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994 film Silent Fall. She then appeared in supporting roles in Empire Records (1995), Heavy (1996), and That Thing You Do! (1996). Tyler later achieved critical recognition in the leading role Stealing Beauty (1996). She followed this by starring in supporting roles including Inventing the Abbotts (1997) and Cookie's Fortune (1999).

Tyler achieved international recognition as a result of her portrayal of elf princess Arwen Undómiel in the The Lord of the Rings films. She has appeared in an eclectic range of films, including the 2004 comedy Jersey Girl, the indie film Lonesome Jim (2005), the drama Reign Over Me (2007) and big-budget studio films such as Armageddon (1998), The Strangers (2008) and The Incredible Hulk (2008).

Since 2003, Tyler has served as a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador for the United States, and as a spokesperson for Givenchy's line of perfume and cosmetics. Tyler married musician Royston Langdon of the band Spacehog in 2003; they have one son, Milo, born December 14, 2004. The couple announced their separation in May 2008.

Tyler was born Liv Rundgren at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, New York. She is the first-born daughter of Bebe Buell, a model, singer, and former Playboy Playmate (Miss November 1974), and Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith. Her mother named her after Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann after seeing Ullmann on the cover of the March 5, 1977 issue of TV Guide. She has three half-siblings: Mia Tyler (born 1978), Chelsea Anna Tallarico (born 1989), and Taj Monroe Tallarico (born 1992). Her maternal grandmother, Dorothea Johnson, founded the Protocol School of Washington.

At birth, Buell claimed that rock star Todd Rundgren was Tyler's biological father. Tyler discovered her true parentage at age nine. She discovered that she was Steven Tyler's daughter after meeting him and noticing a resemblance she shared with his other daughter, Mia. When she asked her mother about the similarity, the secret was revealed. The truth about Tyler's paternity did not become public until 1991, when she changed her name from Rundgren to Tyler, but kept the former as a middle name. Buell's alleged reason for the initial decision was that Steven was too heavily addicted to drugs at the time of her birth. Since learning the truth about her paternity, Tyler and Steven have developed a close relationship. They have also worked together professionally, once when she appeared in Aerosmith's music video for "Crazy" in 1993 and again when Aerosmith wrote and performed many of the songs in the film Armageddon (1998), in which Tyler starred.

At the age of 14, Tyler received her first modeling job with assistance of Paulina Porizkova who took photos of her that ended up in Interview magazine. She later starred in television commercials. However, she became bored with her modeling career less than a year after it started, and decided to go into acting. She never took acting lessons. Tyler first became known to television audiences when she starred alongside Alicia Silverstone in the music video for Aerosmith's 1993 song "Crazy".

She later appeared in That Thing You Do! (1996), a movie about the story of a fictional one-hit wonder rock band called The Wonders, following their whirlwind rise to the top of the pop charts, and just as quickly, their plunge back to obscurity. The film was written and directed by Tom Hanks. It grossed over $25 million worldwide, and was met with favorable reviews. The following year, she appeared in Inventing the Abbotts in 1997, in which she played Pamela the daughter of Will Patton and Barbara Williams' characters. The movie is based on a short story by Sue Miller. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly declared Tyler's performance as "lovely and pliant". That same year, Tyler was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People.

She was then cast in Onegin (1999), a film based on the 19th century Russian novel by Alexander Pushkin, in which she portrayed Tatyana Larina and co-starred with Ralph Fiennes. Tyler was required to master an English accent, though Stephen Holden of the New York Times felt that her approximation of an English accent was "inert". That same year, she appeared in the historical comedy film Plunkett & Macleane.

She later appeared in two films directed by Robert Altman, Cookie's Fortune (1999) and Dr. T & the Women (2000). In Cookie's Fortune, she was part of an ensemble cast that included Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Chris O'Donnell, and Patricia Neal. Her performance well received amongst critics; Charles Taylor of Salon.com wrote: "This is the first time in which Tyler's acting is a match for her beauty (she's always been a bit forlorn). Altman helps her find some snap, but a relaxed, silly snap, as in the cartoon sound she makes when she takes a midday swig of bourbon. The lazy geniality of the movie is summed up by the way Emma saunters off to take a swim with her cowboy hat and pint of Wild Turkey." Entertainment Weekly also noted, "Liv Tyler is sweetly gruff as the tomboy troublemaker". In the romantic comedy, Dr. T & the Woman, she played Marilyn, a gynecologist patient of Richard Gere's character.

2001 marked a significant turning point in Tyler's career, when she starred in the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson. She depicted Arwen Undómiel the elf princess. The film is based on the similarly titled first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The filmmakers approached Tyler after seeing her performance in Plunkett & Macleane. She learned to speak the fictitious Elvish language that was created by Tolkien. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening weekend takings and was the second highest-grossing film of 2001. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Tyler's performance was "lovely and earnest".

A year later, Tyler again starred as Arwen in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the second installment of the series. The film, like the first, received favorable reviews. Tyler spent months before filming learning swordfighting, to be used during the concluding battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, though her scenes from the battle were removed after the script was changed. The film was an enormous box office success, earning over $926 million worldwide, out grossing its predecessor, which earned over $871 million. In 2003, the third and last installment of the series, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, was released.

In 2005 she appeared in Steve Buscemi's independent drama Lonesome Jim, where she was cast alongside Casey Affleck, as a single mother and nurse who reconnects with an old fling who has returned to their small town of Indiana after a failed run as a novelist in New York. The film was screened at a special presentation at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Tyler's next appearance in film was in a supporting role as an insightful therapist who tries to help a once-successful dentist (Adam Sandler) cope with the loss of his family during the events of the September 11th attacks in Reign Over Me (2007).

Tyler dated actor Joaquin Phoenix from 1995 to November 1998; The couple met on the set of Inventing the Abbotts. In 1998, she began dating British musician Royston Langdon of the band Spacehog. The couple became engaged in February 2001, and got married in Barbados on March 25, 2003. On December 14, 2004, she gave birth to a son, Milo William Langdon. On May 8, 2008, Tyler and Langdon confirmed through representatives that they would be separating but remain friends. She lives in New York City.

Tyler is an active supporter of the charitable United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). She was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United States in 2003. In November 2004, she hosted the lighting of the UNICEF Snowflake in New York City. Tyler also served as spokesperson for the 2004 Givenchy Mother's Day promotion, in support of UNICEF's Maternal & Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) campaign.

Since 2004, she has donated to the Women's Cancer Research Fund to support innovative research, education, and outreach directed at the development of more effective approaches to the early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of all women's cancers. In October 2007, Tyler, along with her mother, Bebe Buell and her grandmother, Dorothea Johnson, helped launch the Emergen-C Pink energy drink, in which the event was in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

She is good friends with designer Stella McCartney, model Helena Christensen and actresses Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow. Tyler has also stated that she is a vegan. She was named one of New York magazine's "Most Beautiful New Yorkers" in 2005. In 2003, Tyler became the spokesperson for Givenchy perfume and cosmetics, in 2005 Givenchy named a rose after her, which was used in one of its fragrances.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and the concluding film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy following The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002).

As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard, and Théoden King of Rohan rally their forces to help defend Gondor's capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor and summons an army of ghosts to help him defeat Sauron. Ultimately, even with full strength of arms, they realize they cannot win; so it comes down to the Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, who face the burden of the Ring and the treachery of Gollum, and finally arrive at Mordor, seeking to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom.

Released on 17 December 2003, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King became one of the greatest box-office successes of all time. It won all eleven Academy Awards for which it was nominated, which ties it with only Titanic and Ben-Hur for most Academy Awards ever won. It also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the only time in history a fantasy film has done so. It is the 2nd highest-grossing movie of all time, also behind Titanic, grossing $1.12 billion worldwide, and it is the 49th most successful in North America once adjusted for inflation. The Special Extended Edition, containing an additional 52 minutes of footage, was released on DVD on 14 December 2004.

The film begins with a flashback of how Sméagol acquired the One Ring, before his degeneration and name change to 'Gollum', taking Frodo and Sam to Minas Morgul. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Théoden and Éomer meet up with Merry, Pippin and Treebeard at Isengard, now under the Ents' control, and Gandalf deduces that Saruman will pose no further threat. They also recover the palantír. Pippin's curiosity gets the better of him at Edoras, and he looks into it. The vision he sees (of a dead white tree in a burning stone courtyard) alerts Gandalf that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith, and he rides off there with Pippin. In Rivendell, on her way to the Undying Lands, Arwen has a vision of her son by Aragorn and convinces Elrond to reforge Narsil, the sword that cut the Ring from Sauron's finger long ago. She then forsakes the gift of immortality to be with Aragorn; her fate now rests with the outcome of the war.

Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to find the steward Denethor mourning over Boromir, and Pippin swears loyalty to him in recompense for Boromir's sacrifice. Meanwhile, the Witch-king dispatches his immense Orc army from Minas Morgul, heralding the start of the war, as Frodo, Sam, and Gollum begin climbing the stairs nearby. The Morgul army drives the Gondorians out of Osgiliath, and Faramir is forced to take a doomed ride to reclaim the city. Near Minas Morgul, Gollum convinces Frodo to send Sam home in the belief that he wants the Ring. At the urging of Gandalf, Pippin lights the first of the beacon signals to Edoras, alerting Théoden and the rest of the Rohirrim and prompting them to ride to Dunharrow to prepare for war. While preparing for battle in Dunharrow, Aragorn meets Elrond, who presents the future king with the newly reforged sword Andúril. Aragorn then sets off with Legolas and Gimli to brave the Paths of the Dead, enlisting the help of the cursed Army of the Dead in capturing the ships of the Corsairs of Umbar (Sauron was planning to use the corsairs to launch a surprise attack on Minas Tirith while the defenders were preoccupied with the Orcs). Théoden rides off to war with six thousand riders, unaware that Éowyn and Merry are also part of the army.

The Morgul forces, composed mostly of Orcs, begin the siege of Minas Tirith, and many missiles are traded, while the Witch-king and the other Ringwraiths on their Fell Beasts also attack, destroying siege weapons and sowing terror among the defenders. The Morgul army break into the city using the enormous battering ram Grond. At the same time, Gollum betrays Frodo to the large spider Shelob, but Sam returns to fight her off. Sam believes Frodo is dead and takes the Ring from him, but when Orcs from the Tower of Cirith Ungol take Frodo, Sam overhears that he is still alive. At Minas Tirith, Denethor has gone mad and prepares a funeral pyre for himself and the unconscious Faramir. Gandalf and Pippin arrive on the scene and manage to save Faramir, but despite Gandalf's best efforts, Denethor dies. The Rohirrim arrive and charge into the Orcs, but the Witch-king responds with a counter-attack, attempting to rout the Rohirrim with the forces of Harad, including the immense Mûmakil. The Witch-king descends on Théoden, fatally wounding him. Aragorn finally arrives with the undead on the captured Corsair ships and proceeds to annihilate the Orcs and Mûmakil, while Éowyn and Merry kill the Witch-king. Théoden dies of his wounds, and Aragorn holds the Dead Army's oath fulfilled, releasing them from their curse at last.

Sam rescues Frodo from Cirith Ungol, which is mostly empty following a fight between the two factions of the Tower's Orc garrison over the mithril shirt, and they begin the long trek across Mordor to Mount Doom. Gandalf realizes that ten thousand Orcs stand between Cirith Ungol and Mount Doom, which will prevent Frodo from reaching his destination. Aragorn proposes they lead the remaining soldiers to the Black Gate to draw the Orcs away from Frodo's path. Sam carries Frodo up to Mount Doom, but Gollum arrives and attacks them, just as the Men of the West furiously battle the Orcs. At the Crack of Doom, Frodo, instead of dropping the ring into the lava, succumbs to its power and puts it on, disappearing from sight (the act alerts Sauron, and sends the Ringwraiths racing towards Mount Doom). Gollum renders Sam unconscious, seizes Frodo's finger, and bites it off. As he begins to celebrate reclaiming the ring, Frodo gathers his strength (and his senses) and charges at him. After a brief struggle, they both fall over the edge. Gollum falls into the lava flow with the Ring, while Frodo hangs onto the edge of the cliff. Sam rescues Frodo as the Ring finally sinks into the lava and is destroyed. The Tower of Barad-dûr collapses, Sauron's essence fades and then explodes, destroying him for good, and the Orcs, Ringwraiths and the remaining forces of Sauron are killed in the ensuing shockwave and earthquakes. Frodo and Sam are stranded as Mount Doom destructively erupts, until Gandalf arrives with the Eagles, and they awake in Minas Tirith, reuniting with their friends.

Aragorn is crowned King, heralding the new age of peace, and is reunited with Arwen. The hobbits return to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Frodo, having finished writing the story of the Lord of the Rings and still exhausted from his quest as the Ring-bearer, decides to leave Middle-earth with Gandalf, Bilbo, Elrond and Galadriel at the Grey Havens, leaving his account of the story to Sam, who peacefully continues his family life.

There are also cameos from Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Rick Porras and Andrew Lesnie on the Corsair ship, although all of them but Jackson only appear in the Extended Edition. Jackson also has another unofficial cameo, as Sam's hand stepping into view when he confronts Shelob. Sean Astin's daughter played Sam's daughter Elanor in the last scene of the movie. Jackson's children also cameo as Gondorian extras, whilst Christian Rivers played a Gondorian soldier guarding the Beacon Pippin lights, and is later seen wounded. Royd Tolkien cameos as a Ranger in Osgiliath, whilst in the Extended Edition Howard Shore appears as a celebrating soldier at Edoras. Additionally, four of the designers of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are featured as Rohirrim at the Pelennor. At the end of the film, each cast member gets a sketched portrait by Alan Lee, an idea suggested by Ian McKellen.

The film contains major scenes that occurred in the middle portion of the novel The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers but were not included in the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, such as Shelob and the palantír subplot, due to Jackson realigning the timeline as described in the book's Appendices, but not in the main prose. Saruman's murder by Gríma (seen only in the Extended Edition) is moved into the Isengard visit due to the cutting of the Scouring of the Shire. In the movie, Saruman drops the palantír, whereas in the book Gríma throws it at the Fellowship, unaware of its value.

Denethor, the Steward of Gondor was a more tragic character in the book. The film only focuses on his overwhelming grief over the death of Boromir as to ignore Sauron's threat (in the book he already lights the beacons), and is driven over the edge by Faramir's injury. The film only hints at his use of the palantír which drives him mad, information revealed in the Pyre scene, which is more violent than the book. Jackson also has Denethor jump off the Citadel in addition to burning himself on the Pyre, one of the earliest changes.

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is altered: Faramir never goes on a suicide mission, and is a simplification of the siege of Osgiliath. Generals such as Forlong and Imrahil are also absent, only leaving Gandalf in command. The Orcs also never get into the city in the book. The Witch-king enters and stands off against Gandalf before the Rohirrim arrive, but in the film Orcs invade the city after Grond breaks the Gate. The confrontation takes place whilst Gandalf journeys to save Faramir in the Extended Edition, during which Gandalf has his staff broken. A subplot in which the Rohirrim are aided by the primitive Drúedain into entering the besieged Gondor is also excised. The Red Arrow brought by a messenger from Gondor to ask for aid is absent. Éowyn's presence to the reader on the battlefield is unknown until she takes off her helmet, but in the film the audience is aware, as it would have been difficult to have Miranda Otto playing a man. When hope is almost lost, Gandalf also comforts Pippin with a description of the Undying Lands, which is a descriptive passage in the book's final chapter. The film depicts the Army of the Dead fighting in the Battle, whereas in the book they are released from service prior to this, after helping Aragorn defeat the Corsairs of Umbar at the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin; Aragorn's reinforcements are merely more Gondorians. An unstoppable and invulnerable force, the Dead wipe out Sauron's forces; an article from CNN.com called the battle's climax an "oversimplified cop out" as a result of their involvement.

Sam and Frodo's major rift in their friendship, due to Gollum's machinations, never takes place in the book, but the writers added believing that it added drama and more complexity to Frodo. Frodo enters Shelob's lair alone in the movie, whereas in the book he and Sam entered together. This was done to make the scene more horrific with Frodo being alone, and Sam's rescue at the last minute more dramatic. Also, in the movie we don't know that Sam has the ring until he gives it back to Frodo, whereas in the book the reader knows that Sam has the ring. Gollum's fall into the lava of Mount Doom was also rewritten for the film, as the writers felt Tolkien's original idea (Gollum simply slips and falls off) was anti-climactic. Originally, an even greater deviation was planned: Frodo would heroically push Gollum over the ledge to destroy him and the Ring, but the production team eventually realized that it looked more like Frodo murdering Gollum. As a result, they had Frodo and Gollum struggle for possession of the Ring and both slip over the edge by accident.

There are several changes in the Battle of the Black Gate: Merry is not present there in the book, Pippin does not kill a troll as he does in the novel, and Aragorn kills the Mouth of Sauron in the extended edition of the film but not in the book. There was an even larger change planned: Sauron himself would come out in physical form to battle Aragorn, who would only be saved by the destruction of the Ring. Jackson eventually realized it ignored the point of Aragorn's true bravery in distracting Sauron's army against overwhelming odds, and a computer generated Troll was placed over footage of Sauron in the finished film. The ending is streamlined so as not to include the Scouring of the Shire, which was always seen by the writers as anti-climactic. It is referenced, though, in Frodo's vision of the future in Galadriel's mirror in The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is unusual in that it is, to date, the only one whose separate instalments were written and then shot simultaneously (excluding pick up shoots). Jackson found The Return of the King the easiest of the films to make, because it contained the climax of the story, unlike the other two films. The Return of the King was originally the second of two planned films under Miramax from January 1997 to August 1998, and more or less in its finished structure as the first film was to end with The Two Towers' Battle of Helm's Deep. Filming took place under multiple units across New Zealand, between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000, with pick up shoots for six weeks in 2003 before the film's release.

Middle-earth as envisioned by Jackson was primarily designed by Alan Lee and John Howe, former Tolkien illustrators, and created by Weta Workshop, who handled all the trilogy's weapons, armour, miniatures, prosthetics and creatures, as well as the Art Department which built the sets. Richard Taylor headed Weta, whilst Grant Major and Dan Hennah organized the planning and building respectively.

The city of Minas Tirith, glimpsed briefly in both the previous two films is seen fully in this film, and with it the Gondorian civilization. The enormous soundstage was built at Dry Creek Quarry, outside Wellington, from the Helm's Deep set. That set's gate became Minas Tirith's second, whilst the Hornburg exterior became that of the Extended Edition's scene where Gandalf confronts the Witch-king. New structures included was the 8m tall Gate, with broken and unbroken versions, with a working opening and closing mechanism, with its engravings inspired by the Baptistry of San Giovanni. There were also four levels of streets with heraldic motifs for every house, as inspired by Siena.

There was also the Citadel, the exterior of which was in the Stone Street Studios backlot, utilizing forced perspective. It contains the withered White Tree, built from polystyrene by Brian Massey and the Greens Department with real branches, influenced by ancient and gnarled Lebanese olive trees. The interior was within a 3 story former factory in Wellington, and colour wise is influenced by Charlemagne's Chapel, with a throne for Denethor carved from stone and polystyrene statues of past Kings. The Gondorian armour is designed to represent an evolution from the Númenóreans of the first film's prologue, with a simplified sea bird motif. 16th century Italian and German armour served as inspiration, whilst civilians wear silver and blacks as designed by Ngila Dickson, continuing an ancient/medieval Mediterranean Basin look.

Minas Morgul, the Staircase and Tower of Cirith Ungol as well as Shelob's Lair were designed by Howe, with the Morgul road using forced perspective into a bluescreened miniature. Howe's design of Minas Morgul was inspired from the experience of having wisdom teeth pulled out: in the same way, the Orcs have put their twisted designs on to a former Gondorian city. Cirith Ungol was based on Tolkien's design, but when Richard Taylor felt it as "boring", it was redesigned with more tipping angles. The interior set, like Minas Tirith, was built as a few multiple levels that numerous camera takes would suggest a larger structure.

The third film introduces the enormous spider Shelob. Shelob was designed in 1999, with the body based on a tunnelweb spider and the head with numerous growths selected by Peter Jackson's children from one of many sculpts. Jackson himself took great joy in planning the sequence, being an arachnophobe himself. Shelob's Lair was inspired by sandstone and sculpted from the existing Caverns of Isengard set.

The Return of the King also brings into focus the Dead Men of Dunharrow and the evil Haradrim from the south of Middle-earth, men who ride the mûmakil. The Dead Men have a Celtic influence, as well as lines and symmetry to reflect their morbid state, whilst their underground city is influenced by Petra. The Haradrim were highly influenced by African culture, until Philippa Boyens expressed concern over the possibility of offensiveness, so the finished characters instead bear influence from Kiribati, in terms of weaving armour from bamboo, and the Aztecs, in use of jewellery. Also built was a single dead mûmak. Other minor cultures include the Corsairs, with an exotic, swarthy look, and the Grey Havens, Elven structures adapted to stone, with influence from J. M. W. Turner paintings.

The Return of the King was shot during 2000, though Sean Astin's coverage from Gollum's attempt to separate Frodo and Sam was filmed on 24 November 1999, when floods in Queenstown interrupted the focus on The Fellowship of the Ring. Some of the earliest scenes shot for the film were in fact the last. Hobbiton, home of the Hobbits, was shot in January 2000 with early scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring, with the exterior shot at a Matamata farm, whilst interior scenes shot at Stone Street Studios in Wellington, shared with the Grey Havens sequence. Due to the high emotions of filming the scene, the cast were in despair when they were required to shoot it three times, due to a costume continuity flaw in Sean Astin's costume, and then negatives producing out-of-focus reels. Also shared with the previous films was the Rivendell interior in May.

The Battle of the Black Gate was filmed in April at the Rangipo Desert, a former minefield. New Zealand soldiers were hired as extras whilst guides were on the look out for unexploded mines. Also a cause for concern were Monaghan and Boyd's scale doubles during a charge sequence. In the meantime, Wood, Astin and Serkis filmed at Mount Ruapehu for the Mount Doom exteriors. In particular, they spent two hours shooting Sam lifting Frodo on to his back with cross-camera coverage.

Scenes shot in June were the Paths of the Dead across various locations, including Pinnacles. In July the crew shot some Shelob scenes, and in August and September time was spent on the scenes in Isengard. Monaghan and Boyd tried numerous takes of their entrance, stressing the word "weed" as they smoked pipe-weed. Christopher Lee spent his part of his scene mostly alone, though McKellen and Hill arrived on the first day for a few lines to help.

Edoras exteriors were shot in October. The Ride of the Rohirrim, where Théoden leads the charge into the Orc army, was filmed in Twizel with 150 extras on horseback. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields has more extensive use of computer-generated imagery, in contrast to the more extensive use of live action in the Battle of Helm's Deep in the second film. Also filmed were the attempts by Faramir to recapture Osgiliath, as were scenes in the city itself. At this point production was very hectic, with Jackson moving around ten units per day, and production finally wrapped on the Minas Tirith sets, as well as second units shooting parts of the siege. Just as the Hobbit actors' first scene was hiding under a Ringwraith, their last scene was the bluescreened reaction shot of the inhabitants of Minas Tirith bowing to them.

The 2003 pick ups were filmed in the Wellington studio car park, with many parts of sets and bluescreens used to finish off scenes, which the design team had to work 24/7 to get the right sets ready for a particular day. The shoot continued for two months, and became an emotional time of farewells for the cast and crew. The film has the most extensive list of reshoots given for the trilogy. Jackson took his time to reshoot Aragorn's coronation, rushed into a single day under second unit director Geoff Murphy on 21 December 2000. Jackson also reshot scenes in and around Mount Doom, and Théoden's death, right after Bernard Hill was meant to wrap.

There was also the new character of Gothmog. This was a major new design addition for the film, as Jackson felt the Mordor Orcs were pathetic compared to the Uruk-hai of the second film after watching assembly cuts, and thus Weta created grotesque new über Orcs, as antagonists for the audience to focus on. Christian Rivers also redesigned the Witch-king and all of his scenes were reshot, due to confusion from non-readers over whether or not Sauron was on the battlefield.

With the positive response to Orlando Bloom, Legolas was given a fight with a mûmak, and Howard Shore also got a cameo during Legolas and Gimli's drinking game at Edoras. The final scenes shot were Aragorn escaping the Skull avalanche, and Frodo finishing off his book. The cast also received various props associated with their characters, although in the case of John Rhys-Davies, he burnt his final Gimli prosthetic. Viggo Mortensen headbutted the stunt team goodbye. Pick-ups ended on 27 June 2003.

Scenes shot afterwards included various live-action shots of Riders for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and a reaction shot of Andy Serkis as Gollum finally realizing Frodo intends to destroy the Ring, shot in Jackson's house. For the Extended DVD, Jackson shot in March 2004 a few shots of skulls rolling over for the avalanche scene; this was the final piece of footage ever shot for the trilogy, and Jackson noted that it must be the first time a director had shot scenes for a film after it had already won the Oscar.

Post-production on The Return of the King began in November 2002, with the completion of the 4 1/2 hour assembly cut of the film that Annie Collins had been completing over 2001 and 2002, from 4 hour dailies. For example, Théoden leading the charge went from 150 minutes of takes to a finished 90 seconds. Jackson reunited with longtime collaborator Jamie Selkirk to edit the final film. Like The Two Towers, they would have to deal with multiple storylines, and Jackson paid attention to each storyline at a time before deciding where to intercut. Most importantly they spent three weeks working on the last 45 minutes of the film, for appropriate intercutting and leaving out scenes such as the Mouth of Sauron, and the fates of characters like Legolas, Gimli, Éowyn and Faramir. The film inherited scenes originally planned to go into the second film, including the reforging of Narsil, Gollum's backstory, and Saruman's exit. But the Saruman scene posed a structural problem: killing off the second film's villain when the plot has Sauron as the main villain. Despite pick-ups and dubs, the scene was cut, causing controversy with fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee, as well as a petition to restore the scene. Lee nonetheless contributed to the DVDs and was at the Copenhagen premiere, although on the other hand he says he will never understand the reason for the cut and his relationship with Jackson is chilly. Jackson only had a lock on 5 out of 10 reels, and had to churn out 3 reels in 3 weeks to help finish the film. It was finally done on 12 November. Jackson never had a chance to view the film in full due to the hectic schedule, and only saw the film from beginning to end at the 1 December Wellington premiere; according to Elijah Wood, his response was "yup, it's good, pretty good".

The Return of the King contains 1,488 visual effect shots, nearly 3 times the number of the first film, and almost 2 times the number of the second film. Visual effects work began with Alan Lee and Mark Lewis compositing various photographs of New Zealand landscape to create the digital arena of the Pelennor Fields in November 2002. Gary Horsfield also created a digital version of the Barad-dûr during his Christmas break at home by himself, for the film's climax. In the meantime, Jackson and Christian Rivers used computers to plan the enormous battle up until February 2003, when the shots were shown to Weta Digital. To their astonishment, 60 planned shots had gone up to 250, and 50,000 characters were now 200,000. Nevertheless they pressed on, soon delivering 100 shots a week, 20 a day, as the deadline neared within the last two months, often working until 2 a.m.

For the battle, they recorded 450 motions for the MASSIVE digital horses (though deaths were animated), and also had to deal with late additions in the film, such as Trolls bursting through Minas Tirith's gates as well as the creatures that pull Grond to the gate, and redoing a shot of two mûmakil Éomer takes down that had originally taken six months in two days. On a similar note of digital creatures, Shelob's head sculpt was scanned by a Canadian company for 10 times more detail than Weta had previously been able to capture.

Like the previous films, there are also extensive morphs between digital doubles for the actors. This time, there was Sam falling off Shelob, where the morph takes place as Astin hits the ground. Legolas attacking a mûmak required numerous transitions to and fro, and Gollum's shots of him having recovered the One Ring and falling into the Crack of Doom were fully animated. The King of the Dead is played by an actor in prosthetics, and his head occasionally morphs to a more skull-like digital version, depending on the character's mood. The Mouth of Sauron also had his mouth enlarged 200% for unsettling effect.

The Return of the King also has practical effects. In the Pyre of Denethor sequence, as the Steward of Gondor throws Pippin out of the Tomb, John Noble threw a dwarf named Fon onto a lying Billy Boyd, who immediately pushed his head into camera to complete the illusion. A few burning torches were also reflected off of a plate of glass and into the camera for when Gandalf's horse Shadowfax kicks Denethor onto the Pyre. Due to Jackson's requirement of complete realism with his fantasy world, numerous miniatures were built, such as 1:72 scale miniature of Minas Tirith, which rises 7m high and is 6.5m in diameter. 1:14 scale sections of the city were also required, and the Extended Edition scene of the collapsing City of the Dead has 80,000 small skulls, amounting in total to a single cubic meter. The miniatures team concluded in November with the Black Gate, after 1000 days of shooting, and the final digital effects shot done was the Ring's unmaking, on November 25.

The music was composed by Howard Shore, who previously composed the first two parts of the trilogy. Shore watched the assembly cut of the film, and had to write seven minutes of music per day to keep up with the schedule. The score sees the full introduction of the Gondor theme, originally heard during Boromir's speeches at the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring and at Osgiliath in The Two Towers Extended Edition. Actors Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler also contributed to the film's music. Boyd sings on screen as Faramir charges towards Osgiliath, Mortensen sings on screen as he is crowned King, and in the Extended Edition Tyler sings as Aragorn heals Éowyn.

Renée Fleming, Ben Del Maestro and Sir James Galway also contribute to the soundtrack. Fleming sings as Arwen has a vision of her son and when Gollum recovers the One Ring. Del Maestro sings when Gandalf lights his staff to save fleeing Gondorian soldiers from Osgiliath as the Nazgûl attack. Galway plays the flute as Frodo and Sam climb Mount Doom. The end title song, "Into the West", was composed by Shore with lyrics by Fran Walsh. Annie Lennox (formerly of Eurythmics) performed it and also received songwriting credit. The song was partially inspired by the premature death from cancer of a young New Zealand filmmaker named Cameron Duncan who had befriended Peter Jackson.

The Sound department spent the early part of the year searching for the right sounds. A tasmanian devil was Shelob's shriek, which in turn gave inspiration for Weta's animators, whilst the mûmakil is the beginning and end of a lion roar. Human screams and a donkey screech were mixed into Sauron's fall, and to avoid comparison with 9/11, broken glass was used for the collapsing sounds. For missile trading during Minas Tirith's siege, construction workers dropped actual 2 ton stone blocks previously lifted by a construction crane. Mixing began at a new studio on 15 August, although unfinished building work caused some annoyances. The mixers finished on 15 November, after three months of non-stop work.

After two years of attention and acclaim since the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, audience anticipation for the final instalment of the trilogy had reached fever pitch when the movie was complete. The world premiere was held in Wellington's Embassy Theatre, on 1 December 2003, and was attended by the director and many of the stars. It was estimated that over 100,000 people lined the streets, more than a quarter of the city's population.

The film has a 94% rating of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Richard Corliss of Time named it as the best film of the year. The main criticism of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, was its running time, particularly the epilogue. Even rave reviews for the film commented on its length. Joel Siegel of Good Morning America said in his review for the movie (which he gave an 'A'): "If it didn't take forty-five minutes to end, it'd be my best picture of the year. As it is, it's just one of the great achievements in film history." There was also criticism regarding the Army of the Dead's appearance, rapidly ending the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

In February 2004, a few months after release, the film was voted as #8 on Empire's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, compiled from readers' top 10 lists. This forced the magazine to abandon its policy of films being older than 12 months to be eligible. In 2007, Total Film named The Return of the King the third best film of the past decade (Total Film's publication time), behind The Matrix and Fight Club.

The film's first day saw a U.S. box office total of $34.5 million — an all-time single-day record for a motion picture released on a Wednesday, until Spider-Man 2 grossed $40.4 million. The film opened a day earlier for a midnight showing and it accounted for about $8 million. Whereas The Return of the King opened around Christmas time, Spider-Man 2 opened in the middle of summer. This was nearly twice the first-day total of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (which earned $18.2 million on its opening day in 2001), and a significant increase over The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as well (which earned $26.1 million on its debut in 2002). Part of the grosses came from the Trilogy Tuesday event, in which the Extended Editions of the first two films were played on December 16 before the first midnight screening.

The final North American box office stands at $377 million and the worldwide take is $1.1 billion (about $742 million overseas). It was the second film in history to earn over $1 billion in box office revenue in its initial release (the first being Titanic in 1997 and after The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Dark Knight also achieved this feat). This compares favourably to the first two films of the trilogy: in their first 35 weeks of theatrical release in North America, the gross income of the first two movies was $313,364,114 and $339,789,881. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, has helped The Lord of the Rings franchise go on to become the highest grossing motion picture trilogy worldwide of all time, beating other notables such as the Star Wars trilogies.

These figures do not include income from DVD sales, TV rights, etc. It has been estimated that the gross income from non-box office sales and merchandise has been at least equal to the box office for all three films. If this is so, the total gross income for the trilogy would be in the region of $6 billion, a very respectable return for a $300 million ($426 million including marketing costs) investment.

Compared to the profits of other films, The Return of the King is probably one of the most lucrative movie investments of all time. Including marketing costs, it made a 1408% profit over the original outlay from New Line Studios. Comparatively, John Carpenter's Halloween made $55 million worldwide from a $325,000 budget, giving it above a 16,000% profit. The Blair Witch Project (including marketing costs of $25 million) made a profit of 992% (though without it would be over two million percent) and Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time, made a profit of 768% over production and marketing costs.

On 27 January 2004, the film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, Directing, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Song, Visual Effects, Art Direction, Costuming, Make-up, Sound Mixing and Film Editing. On 29 February, the film won all the categories for which it was nominated. It tied with Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscars ever won by a single film, and broke the previous record for a sweep set by Gigi and The Last Emperor at 9.

However, none of the ensemble cast received any acting nominations, making the movie the first Best Picture winner since 1995's Braveheart to have not received any, though 2008's Slumdog Millionaire would later go on to achieve the same feat. The film was the first in the fantasy film genre to win the Best Picture award. It was also only the second time a sequel had won the Best Picture category; the first being The Godfather, Part II.

The film also won four Golden Globes (including Best Picture for Drama and Best Director), five BAFTAs, two MTV Movie Awards, two Grammy Awards, nine Saturn Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Picture and the Hugo Award. It is the most-honoured fantasy film in history.

The theatrical edition of the movie was released on DVD on 25 May 2004. The DVD was a 2-disc set with extras on the second disc. The theatrical DVD sets for the two previous films were released eight months after the films were released, but Return of the King's set was completed in five because it did not have to market a sequel (the previous films had to wait for footage of their sequels to become available for a ten minute preview). However, it contained a 7 minute trailer of the entire trilogy.

The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition (252 minutes) with new editing, and added special effects and music, along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material. However, this set took longer to produce than the others because the cast and crew were spread all over the world working on other projects. The set was finally released on 10 December 2004 in the UK and 14 December in the U.S.. The final ten minutes comprises a listing of the charter members of the official fan club who had paid for three-year charter membership. A collectors' box set was also released, which included the Extended Set plus a sculpture of Minas Tirith and a bonus 50-minute music documentary DVD, Howard Shore: Creating The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Composer's Journey Through Middle-earth. The DVD has a DTS-ES soundtrack. The DVD also features two humorous Easter Eggs, one where Dominic Monaghan plays a German interviewer with Elijah Wood over a phone, and another where Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller attempt to convince Jackson to make a sequel, originally shown at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Both can be accessed via a Ring icon on the last page of both Disc 1 and 2's scene indexes.

On 29 August 2006, a Limited Edition of The Return of the King was released. This Limited Edition contains two discs. The first is a two-sided DVD (also known as DVD-18) that contains both the Theatrical and Extended editions of the film. At the beginning of each side of the disc, the viewer can choose which version to watch. The second disc is a bonus disc that contains a new behind-the-scenes documentary.

There is some extra dialogue in Merry and Pippin's first scene at Isengard reuniting them with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. There is also the final confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman, in which Saruman is killed by Wormtongue, who in turn is killed by Legolas. Saruman lands on a spike on a wheel and drops the palantír. Edoras is extended, with the party containing a drinking game between Legolas and Gimli. Right before Pippin takes the palantír, Aragorn enters the Great Hall and has a conversation with Éowyn about a dream she had, about a great wave over a green countryside, which was originally Faramir's dream in the book.

At Minas Tirith, Pippin explains to Denethor how Boromir died, and Gandalf explains to Pippin how Gondor fell into ruin. Frodo, Sam and Gollum discover a ruined and defaced statue at the Crossroads. When the Morgul signal for war begins, Sam warns Gollum about betrayal, eventually setting up the separation. When the Orcs cross the river it is shown that the Gondorians were surprised, expecting an attack at Cair Andros. To further set up the battle, Merry is seen swearing loyalty to Théoden at Edoras after the lighting of the beacons. After Faramir arrives in Minas Tirith, there is a scene where Denethor confronts him for not taking the Ring, which includes his vision of Boromir. There is a friendly chat between Pippin and Faramir which sets up Pippin's later attempts to rescue him.

The Paths of the Dead sequence is heavily revised, with ghostly arms, the avalanche of skulls and Aragorn's emergence from the mountain where the King of the Dead accepts his offer. This leads to Aragorn attacking the Corsair ships, which includes a cameo by Peter Jackson as a corsair bosun killed by Legolas. During the siege of Minas Tirith, the Orcs use a small battering ram on the gates before Grond arrives, and Gandalf confronts the Witch-king as he comes to rescue Faramir, when his staff is broken. Gothmog also fights Éowyn during the battle, and attempts to finish her off as the battle closes before he is killed by Aragorn and Gimli.

The scenes between the end of the Pelennor battle and Black Gate battle are longer. Pippin's search for Merry is digitally graded to night to give the impression he has been searching for him all day. Éomer also finds Éowyn on the field and mourns when he thinks she is dead. Aragorn heals her and she falls for Faramir. Before Aragorn sets off, he confronts Sauron in the palantír, however Sauron shows Aragorn an image of a dying Arwen, which frightens Aragorn into backing away. Sam and Frodo get more time in Mordor: the fight among the orcs in the tower of Cirith Ungol is longer, and after Sam rescues Frodo, we see a surviving Uruk sneaking off with Frodo's mithril shirt. Frodo and Sam are also diverted into the Orc march to the Black Gate and escape on a long journey, during which they throw away the last of their gear. Sam also sees a star through the clouds, symbolizing hope whilst Frodo merely rests with a burn on his neck. At the Black Gate, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, Merry, and Éomer are first confronted by the Mouth of Sauron, suggesting that Frodo is dead, providing additional meaning to Aragorn's line "For Frodo". There is a final line of dialogue in which Gollum admits he lied about protecting Frodo.

Mia Tyler

Mia Abagale Tallarico (born December 22, 1978), aka Mia Tyler, is an American plus-size model and actress.

Tyler was born at the Alice Peck Day Hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the daughter of Aerosmith lead singer, Steven Tyler, and actress Cyrinda Foxe. Mia is also the paternal half-sister of actress Liv Tyler (whose mother is actress and singer Bebe Buell).

While Mia and Liv are now close to their father, Steven Tyler, they were brought up by their respective mothers, Cyrinda Foxe and Bebe Buell. Mia's parents divorced in 1987 and her father went on to marry his second wife, clothing designer Teresa Barrick. Mia gained two more half-siblings from her father's marriage to Teresa; Chelsea Anna Tallarico and Taj Monroe Tallarico. In 2002, Mia suffered the death of her mother, Cyrinda Foxe, from a brain tumour.

In 1990, Mia moved to New York City where she attended Manhattan's Professional Children's School.

In 2002, Mia met her now ex-husband, ex-Papa Roach drummer, Dave Buckner, at the taping of MTV's Icon: Aerosmith. Mia and Dave wed onstage during an Aerosmith concert held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Her father, Steven Tyler asked the crowd, "Hey Vegas, I need a favor, my daughter wants to get married tonight. Can I get a witness?" before giving his daughter away in marriage. She was married to Buckner for two years before divorcing in 2005.

She became engaged to guitarist Brian Harrah in November, 2007, but their relationship ended in August, 2008.

In 2008, Mia's autobiography, "Creating Myself", was published by Simon & Schuester. In "Creating Myself", Mia lets us in on the darkest secrets of her perceivably perfect life. She lets us in on the truth about her rock and roll childhood including the memories of dumping her Mother’s cocaine down the toilet at only eight years old. Mia also discusses her addictions to drugs and her battles with self mutilation. She tells of her suicide attempt and her recovery. Mia Tyler opens her heart and soul in this autobiography in hopes that through her story others might grow and learn as she did that we are not perfect but a work in progress.

She currently resides in Los Angeles and does speaking engagements to help promote self confidence.

Jersey Girl (2004 film)

Jersey Girl is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It stars Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and George Carlin. At $35 million it was Smith's biggest-budget project to date ($10 million of which was Ben Affleck's salary, $4 million to Jennifer Lopez's salary), but ended up underperforming at the box office while receiving many negative reviews. Only a select few prominent critics reacted favorably. For instance, Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars.

Oliver "Ollie" Trinké (Ben Affleck) is a powerful media publicist in New York City who loses his wife, Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez), in childbirth. To avoid his grief, Ollie buries himself in his work and ignores his new daughter, Gertie, while his father, Bart (George Carlin), takes 30 sick days in a row to care for her. Hoping to get Ollie to live up to his responsibility as a parent, one day his father returns suddenly to work, leaving Ollie to deal with his infant daughter. Under the stress of a botched diaper change and a baby who won't stop crying, Ollie trashes his client (Will Smith, for his soon-to-be released film Independence Day) in front of the assembled reporters and even lashes out at them. The public outburst costs Ollie his job and he moves in with his father in New Jersey. Ollie is humbled by the experience and finally looks upon his daughter with approval and conviction.

Now blacklisted by all the New York public relations firms, Ollie tries unsuccessfully for years to get work as a publicist, whilst also working as a civil servant in the borough where he now lives to get by. Gertie (Raquel Castro), now in elementary school, often coaxes her father to rent movies to watch. At the video store, they meet Maya (Liv Tyler), one of the store's clerks. Maya soon becomes a good friend and part of their lives.

As part of his job in the borough, Ollie speaks to a group of outraged citizens to win over their approval for a major public works project that will temporarily close a street in the neighborhood. His successful and enjoyable interaction with the crowd leads him to realize how much he misses the public relations work. He contacts Arthur (Jason Biggs), his one-time protégé, who sets up a promising interview.

The real prospect of moving to New York creates tension between Ollie and his daughter, his father, and Maya, especially when he says that his interview is on the same day as Gertie's school talent show. Gertie yells at Ollie, saying she hates him and that she wishes he had died instead of her mom. Ollie says "I hate you too you little shit! You and your mother took my life away!" Ollie immediately regrets this and tries to apologize, but Gertie pushes him away and runs into her room, crying. Ollie tries to clear his head by visiting his wife's grave, but it makes him even more sad. A few days later he and Gertie apologize to each other, and Gertie accepts the fact that they will be moving to New York. However, while waiting to be interviewed, Ollie has a chance encounter with Will Smith (playing himself), who Ollie had trashed at his public outburst years before. Smith has no idea who Ollie is but their conversation about work and children makes Ollie decide to sacrifice the former for the latter.

Ollie is able to make it to his daughter's "Sweeney Todd" musical performance at the last second (she chose "God, That's Good!", which, as it turned out, was the only one not to be "Memory" from Cats). The film ends with Ollie, Gertie, Bart, Maya, and the rest celebrating at the bar. Ollie hugs Maya, but they are interrupted by Gertie who asks Maya if she can have her dad now. Maya lets her. Ollie picks up Gertie and she asks if they're staying with Pop. Ollie says that they are and that he didn't take the job. Gertie asks if he'll take her to see Cats and he says no. Gertie then asks why he didn't take the job if he loved it so much. Ollie says that he thought he loved it, but he loved his new life more because being a father to Gertie was the only thing that he was really good at.

Jersey Girl was the first Kevin Smith film that did not feature Jay and Silent Bob. (This is due to the fact they are staple characters of the View Askewniverse, in which "Jersey Girl" was the first of Smith's films not to be set.) However, computer representations of them appear in the View Askew production logo. Jason Mewes, the actor who played Jay in the View Askewniverse films, would have had a non-Jay part in the film as Ollie's assistant Arthur. However, Kevin Smith had temporarily severed ties with him as part of a "tough love" approach to get him to quit drugs. At the time, Mewes also had a bench warrant for his arrest in New Jersey for missing a mandatory court appearance on a possession charge.

Smith, who is often criticized for the look of his films, was initially excited to have Academy Award-winning Vilmos Zsigmond as the film's director of photography. However, he has since referred to Zsigmond as "an ornery old cuss who made the crew miserable" and said that he would rather stay in his "comfort zone" with those with whom he chooses to work.

Smith has repeatedly denied rumours that he re-shot scenes or cut Jennifer Lopez's part into a cameo for fear of a public backlash over the poor box office reception of Gigli.

The song "High" performed by The Cure appears in the foreground for the length of scene where Ben Affleck's character races back to New Jersey to participate in his daughter's performance. "Wandering" by Ben Folds (off the album Speed Graphic) is also used in the film.

It is Smith's first (and to date only) PG-13 rated film. It was originally given an R rating by the MPAA due to the dialogue with Ollie and Maya discussing masturbation in the diner, but this rating was appealed and overturned.

An extended cut was shown at Kevin Smith's private film festival Vulgarthon in 2005 (and was shown again at the 2006 festival). Cut scenes that featured in the extended version included a much longer extension of the Jennifer Lopez section of the movie that fleshed out the characters more, Ben Affleck's full speech in the city hall, a longer ending, and some music changes.

On the film's audio commentary, Smith states that a longer version of the film will be released within the next year. As of September 2007, no announcement has been made. In a recent interview, Smith said that the company has now very little interest to put out the DVD, but saying they'll probably release it in a few years.

Critical response to the film was mixed, with some critics panning it as formulaic, while some other high profile critics (including Roger Ebert) praising Kevin Smith for trying different things in his film career. In response to negative reviews following the movie's release, Kevin Smith was quoted saying his movie was "not for critics".

The film was not a commercial success at the box office, making only $25.2 million domestic and $10.6 million overseas against a $35 million dollar budget (easily Smith's largest) and a $15 million dollar marketing campaign. Like most of Smith's films, it has since gone on to profit from video and DVD sales.

The film was nominated for three Razzie Awards. Worst Actor for Ben Affleck, Worst Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lopez, and according to the press release, "Ben Affleck & EITHER Jennifer Lopez OR Liv Tyler" for Worst On-Screen Couple. Raquel Castro won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger for her performance and the film was nominated for Best Family Feature Film - Comedy or Musical.

Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, glam, and rhythm and blues, which has inspired many subsequent rock artists. The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. By 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.

They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972 and released a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album. In 1975, the band broke into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their 1976 follow-up Rocks cemented their status as hard rock superstars. By the end of the 1970s, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a loyal following of fans, often referred to as the "Blue Army". However, drug addiction and internal conflict took their toll on the band, which resulted in the departures of Perry and Whitford, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. They were replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay. The band did not fare well between 1980 and 1984, releasing a lone album, Rock in a Hard Place, which went gold but failed to match their previous successes.

Although Perry and Whitford returned in 1984 and the band signed a new deal with Geffen Records, it wasn't until the band sobered up and released 1987's Permanent Vacation that they regained the level of popularity they had experienced in the 1970s. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, the band scored several hits and won numerous awards for music from the multi-platinum albums Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993), and Nine Lives (1997). Their comeback has been described as one of the most remarkable and spectacular in rock 'n' roll history. After 39 years of performing, the band continues to tour and record music.

Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine #1 Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2005 they were ranked #57 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

The origins of Aerosmith can be traced to the late 1960s in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Steven Tyler was a drummer and vocalist originally from Yonkers, New York, who had been in a series of relatively unsuccessful bands such as The Vic Tallarico Orchestra, The Strangeurs/Chain Reaction, The Chain, Fox Chase, and William Proud. In 1969, while vacationing in Sunapee, he met Joe Perry, who was at the time washing dishes at the Anchorage in Sunapee Harbor, and playing in a band called the Jam Band with bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer David "Pudge" Scott. This meeting would eventually lead to the formation of Aerosmith.

Hamilton and Perry moved to Boston, Massachusetts in September . There they met Joey Kramer, a drummer also from Yonkers, New York who had also known Steven Tyler, with whom he had always hoped to play in a band. Kramer, a Berklee College of Music student, decided to quit school to join the band. In October 1970, they met up once again with Steven Tyler, who had been a drummer and backup singer, but adamantly refused to play drums in this band, insisting he would only take part if he could be the frontman and lead vocalist. The others agreed, and Aerosmith was born. The band took the name Aerosmith, suggested by drummer Joey Kramer, after considering The Hookers and Spike Jones.

The band added Ray Tabano, a childhood friend of Tyler, as rhythm guitarist and began playing local shows. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, who also attended the Berklee School of Music and was formerly of the band Earth Inc. Other than a period from July 1979 to April 1984, the line-up of Tyler, Perry, Hamilton, Kramer, and Whitford has stayed the same.

After forming the band and finalizing the lineup in 1971, the band started to garner some local success doing live shows. Originally booked through the Ed Malhoit Agency, the band signed a promotion deal with Frank Connelly and eventually secured a management deal with David Krebs and Steve Leber in 1972. Krebs and Leber invited Columbia Records President Clive Davis to see the band at Max's Kansas City club in New York City. Aerosmith was not originally scheduled to play that night at Max's Kansas City, but they were able to pay their way on the bill. Aerosmith signed for a reported $125,000 and issued their debut album, Aerosmith. Released in January 1973, the album peaked at #166. The album was straightforward rock and roll with well-defined blues influences, laying the groundwork for Aerosmith's signature blues-rock sound. Although the highest charting single from the album was "Dream On" at #59, several tracks (such as "Mama Kin" and "Walkin' the Dog") would become staples of the band's live shows and receive airplay on rock radio. The album reached gold status initially, but eventually went on to sell two million copies and was certified double platinum after the band reached mainstream success over a decade later. After constant touring, the band released their second album Get Your Wings in 1974, the first of a string of multi-platinum albums produced by Jack Douglas. This album included the rock radio hits "Same Old Song and Dance" and "Train Kept A-Rollin'", a cover done previously by The Yardbirds. The album also contained several fan favorites including "Lord of the Thighs", "Seasons of Wither", and "S.O.S. (Too Bad)", darker songs which have become staples in the band's live shows. To date, Get Your Wings has sold three million copies.

It was 1975's Toys in the Attic, however, that established Aerosmith as international stars competing with the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. Originally derided as Rolling Stones knockoffs, Toys in the Attic showed that Aerosmith was a unique and talented band in their own right. Toys in the Attic was an immediate success, starting with the single "Sweet Emotion", which became the band's first Top 40 hit. This was followed by a successful re-release of "Dream On" which hit #6, becoming their best charting single of the 1970s. "Walk This Way", re-released in 1976, reached the Top 10 in early 1977.

In addition, "Toys in the Attic" and "Big Ten Inch Record" (a song originally recorded by Bull Moose Jackson) became concert staples. As a result of this success, both of the band's previous albums re-charted. Toys in the Attic has gone on to become the band's bestselling studio album in the States, with certified U.S. sales of eight million copies. The band toured in support of Toys in the Attic, where they started to get more recognition. Also around this time, the band established their home base as "The Wherehouse" in Waltham, Massachusetts, where they would record and rehearse music, as well as conduct business.

Aerosmith's next album was 1976's Rocks, which "captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking". It went platinum swiftly and featured two FM hits, "Last Child" and "Back in the Saddle", as well as the ballad "Home Tonight", which also charted. Rocks has sold four million copies to date. Both Toys in the Attic and Rocks are highly regarded, especially in the hard rock genre, and appear on such lists as Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and are cited by members of Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and Mötley Crüe as having large influences on their music. Soon after Rocks was released, the band continued to tour heavily, this time headlining their own shows and playing to several large stadiums and rock festivals.

The next album, 1977's Draw the Line, was not as successful or as critically acclaimed as their two previous efforts, although the title track proved to be a minor hit (and is still a live staple), and "Kings and Queens" also experienced some success. The album went on to sell 2 million copies; however drug abuse and the fast-paced life of touring and recording began affecting their output. While continuing to tour and record into the late 1970s, Aerosmith acted in the movie version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their cover of the Beatles hit "Come Together" was included in the album's soundtrack and would be the band's last Top 40 hit for nearly 10 years. The live release Live! Bootleg, originally released as a double album, was put out in 1978 and captured the band's rawness during the heyday of the Draw the Line tour. Lead singer Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry became known as "The Toxic Twins" because of their notorious abuse of drugs on and off the stage.

Just after the recording of their sixth studio album, 1979's Night in the Ruts, Joe Perry left the band, citing differences with Steven Tyler, and formed The Joe Perry Project. Perry was replaced first by longtime band friend and songwriter Richard Supa and then by guitarist Jimmy Crespo (formerly of the band Flame). Night in the Ruts quickly fell off the charts (although it would eventually go platinum several years later), its only single being a cover of The Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", which topped out at #67.

The band continued to tour in support of Night in the Ruts with new guitarist Jimmy Crespo onboard, but as the 1970s came to a close, the band's popularity waned. Steven Tyler collapsed onstage during a performance in Portland, Maine in early 1980. Also in 1980, Aerosmith released its Greatest Hits album. The album has gone on to become the band's bestselling album in the United States, with sales of 11 million copies. In the fall of 1980, Tyler was injured in a serious motorcycle accident, which left him hospitalized for two months, and unable to tour or record well into 1981. In 1981, the band suffered another loss with the departure of Brad Whitford. After recording guitar parts for the song "Lightning Strikes", Whitford was replaced by Rick Dufay and the band recorded their seventh album Rock in a Hard Place in 1982. The album was considered a commercial failure, only going gold, and failing to produce a major hit single. During the tour for Rock in a Hard Place, Tyler again collapsed onstage, this time at the band's homecoming show in Worcester, Massachusetts, after getting high with Joe Perry, who met with Aerosmith backstage that evening.

In 1984, Aerosmith embarked on a reunion tour entitled "Back in the Saddle", which led to the live album Classics Live II. While concerts on the tour were well-attended, it was plagued with several incidents, mostly attributed to drug abuse by band members. Their problems still not behind them, the group was signed to Geffen Records and began working on a comeback. Despite the band signing on to a new record company, Columbia continued to reap the benefits of Aerosmith's comeback, releasing the live companion albums Classics Live I and II and the collection Gems.

In 1985 the band released Done with Mirrors, their first studio album with Geffen and their first album since the much-publicized reunion. While the album did receive some positive reviews, it only went gold and failed to produce a hit single, or generate much buzz outside the confines of rock radio. The album's most notable track, "Let the Music Do the Talking", was in fact a cover of a song originally recorded by The Joe Perry Project and released on that band's album of the same name. Nevertheless, the band became a popular concert attraction once again, touring in support of Done With Mirrors, well into 1986. In 1986, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry appeared on Run D.M.C.'s cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way", a track blending rock and roll and hip hop that not only cemented rap into the mainstream of American popular music, but also marked Aerosmith's true comeback. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its associated video helped introduce Aerosmith to a new generation.

Yet the band members' drug problems still stood in their way. In 1986, lead singer Steven Tyler completed a successful drug rehabilitation program, at the discretion of his fellow band members and manager Tim Collins, who believed that the band's future would not be bright if Tyler did not get treated. The rest of the band members also completed drug rehab programs over the course of the next couple years. According to the band's tell-all autobiography, Collins pledged he could make Aerosmith the biggest band in the world by 1990 if they all completed drug rehab. Their next album was crucial because of the commercial disappointment of Done With Mirrors, and as the band members became clean, they worked hard to make their next album a success.

Permanent Vacation was released in September 1987, becoming a major hit and the band's bestselling album in over a decade (selling 5 million copies in the U.S.), with all three of its singles ("Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Rag Doll", and "Angel") reaching the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The group went on a subsequent tour with labelmates Guns N' Roses (who have cited Aerosmith as a major influence), which was intense at times because of Aerosmith's new struggle to stay clean amidst GN'Rs well-publicized, rampant drug use.

Aerosmith's next album was even more successful. Pump, released in October 1989, featured three Top Ten singles: "Janie's Got a Gun", "What It Takes", and "Love in an Elevator", as well as the Top 30 "The Other Side", re-establishing Aerosmith as a serious musical force. Pump was a critical and commercial success, eventually selling 7 million copies, achieving four-star ratings from major music magazines, and earning the band their first ever Grammy win in the category of Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, for "Janie's Got a Gun". The recording process for Pump was documented in the video The Making of Pump, which has since been re-released as a DVD. The music videos for the album's singles were featured on the release Things That Go Pump in the Night, which quickly went platinum.

In support of Pump, the band embarked on the 12-month Pump Tour, which lasted for most of 1990. On February 21, 1990, the band appeared in a "Wayne's World" sketch on Saturday Night Live, debating the fall of communism and the Soviet Union, and performed their recent hits "Janie's Got a Gun" and "Monkey on My Back". On August 11, 1990, the band's performance on MTV's Unplugged aired. In October 1990, the Pump Tour ended, with the band's first ever performances in Australia. That same year, the band was also inducted to the Hollywood Rock Walk. In 1991, the band appeared on The Simpsons episode "Flaming Moe's" and released a box set titled Pandora's Box. In 1992, Tyler and Perry appeared live as guests of Guns N' Roses during the latter's 1992 worldwide pay-per-view show in Paris, performing a medley of "Mama Kin" (which GN'R covered in 1986) and "Train Kept-A Rollin".

The band took a brief break before recording their follow-up to Pump in 1992. Despite significant shifts in mainstream music at the beginning of the 1990s, 1993's Get a Grip was just as successful commercially, becoming their first album to debut at #1 and racking up sales of 7 million copies in a two-and-a-half-year timespan. The first singles were the hard rocking "Livin' on the Edge" and "Eat the Rich". Though many critics were unimpressed by the focus on the subsequent interchangeable power-ballads in promoting the album, all three ("Cryin'", "Crazy" and "Amazing") proved to be huge successes on radio and MTV. The music videos featured then up-and-coming actress Alicia Silverstone; her provocative performances earned her the title of "the Aerosmith chick" for the first half of the decade. Steven Tyler's daughter Liv Tyler was also featured in the "Crazy" video. Get a Grip would go on to sell more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone, and over 15 million copies worldwide. The band won two Grammy Awards for songs from this album in the category of Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: for "Livin' on the Edge" in 1994 and "Crazy" in 1995.

During the making of Get a Grip, the management and record company brought in a variety of professional songwriting collaborators to help give nearly all the songs on the album more commercial appeal, a trend which would continue until the early 2000s. However, this led to accusations of selling out that would continue throughout the 90s. In addition to Aerosmith's grueling 18 month world tour in support of Get a Grip, the band also did a number of things to help promote themselves and their album and appeal to youth culture, including the appearance of the band in the movie Wayne's World 2 where they performed two songs, the appearance of the band and their music in the video games Revolution X and Quest for Fame, performing at Woodstock '94, using their song "Deuces Are Wild" in The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience, and opening their own club, The Mama Kin Music Hall, in Boston, MA in 1994. That same year saw the release of the band's compilation for Geffen Records, entitled Big Ones featuring their biggest hits from Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip, as well as three new songs, "Deuces Are Wild", "Blind Man", and "Walk on Water", all of which experienced great success on the rock charts.

Aerosmith had signed a $30 million contract with Columbia Records/Sony Music in 1991, but had only recorded three of their six contractual albums with Geffen Records at that point (Done with Mirrors, Permanent Vacation, and Pump). Between 1991 and 1996, they released two more albums with Geffen (Get a Grip and Big Ones), which meant they now had five albums with Geffen under their belt (along with a planned live compilation), which meant they could now begin recording for their new contract with Columbia. The band took time off with their families before working on their next album, Nine Lives, which was plagued with personnel problems, including the firing of manager Tim Collins, who, according to band members, nearly caused the band to break up. The album's producer was also changed from Glen Ballard to Kevin Shirley. Nine Lives was released in March of 1997. Reviews were mixed, and Nine Lives initially fell down the charts, although it had a long chart life and sold double platinum in the United States alone, fueled by its singles, "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)", the ballad "Hole in My Soul", and the crossover-pop smash "Pink" (which won the band their fourth Grammy Award in 1999 in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal category). It was followed by the over two-year-long Nine Lives Tour, which was plagued by problems including lead singer Steven Tyler injuring his leg at a concert, and Joey Kramer suffering second degree burns when his car caught fire at a gas station. However, the band also released their only #1 single to date: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", the love theme, written by Diane Warren, from the 1998 film Armageddon, starring Steven Tyler's daughter Liv. The song stayed on top of the charts for four weeks and was nominated for an Academy Award. The song helped open Aerosmith up to a new generation and remains a slow-dance staple. 1998 also saw the release of the double-live album, A Little South of Sanity, which was assembled from performances on the Get a Grip and Nine Lives tours. The album went platinum shortly after its release. The band continued with their seemingly neverending world tours promoting Nine Lives and the "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" single well into 1999.

In 1999, Aerosmith were featured in the Disney Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World (and later in 2001 at Disneyland Paris in the Walt Disney Studios Park) ride, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, providing the ride's soundtrack and theme. On September 9, 1999, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry reunited with Run-D.M.C. and were also joined by Kid Rock for a collaborative live performance of "Walk This Way" at the MTV Video Music Awards, a precursor to the Girls of Summer Tour. The band celebrated the new millennium with a brief tour of Japan, and also contributed the song "Angel's Eye" to the 2000 film Charlie's Angels.

The band entered their next decade by performing at the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXV, in January 2001, along with pop stars 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly. All of the stars collaborated with Aerosmith at the end for a performance of "Walk This Way".

In March 2001, the band released their 13th studio album Just Push Play, which quickly went platinum, fueled by the Top 10 single "Jaded" and the appearance of the title track in Dodge commercials. They were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon after their album was released, in late March of 2001. Aerosmith is the only band to be inducted to the Hall of Fame with a song active in the charts ("Jaded"). Later that year, the band performed as part of the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert in Washington D.C. for 9/11 victims and their families. The band flew back to Indianapolis for a show the same night, as part of their Just Push Play Tour.

The band started 2002 by ending the Just Push Play tour, and simultaneously recording segments for their Behind the Music special on VH1, which not only chronicled the band's history but also the band's current activities and touring. The special was one of the few Behind the Musics to run two hours in length. In July 2002, Aerosmith released a two-disc career-spanning compilation O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, which featured the new single "Girls of Summer", and embarked on the Girls of Summer Tour with Kid Rock and Run-D.M.C. opening. O, Yeah! has since been certified double platinum. MTV honored Aerosmith with their mtvICON award in 2002. Performances included Pink covering "Janie's Got a Gun". Shakira performed "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", Kid Rock played "Mama Kin" and "Last Child", Train performed "Dream On" and Papa Roach covered "Sweet Emotion". In addition, testimonials featured surprise guests Metallica, as well as Janet Jackson, Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst, Alicia Silverstone and Mila Kunis. In 2003, Aerosmith co-headlined with Kiss on the Rocksimus Maximus Tour, in preparation for release of their blues album.

Aerosmith's long-promised blues album Honkin' on Bobo was released in 2004. This was a return to the band's roots, including recording the album in live sessions, working with former producer Jack Douglas, and laying down their blues-rock grit. It was followed by a live DVD, You Gotta Move, in December 2004, culled from performances on the Honkin' on Bobo Tour. "Dream On" was also featured in an advertising campaign for Buick in 2004, targeting that marque's market which is now composed largely of people who were teenagers when the song first charted.

2005 saw Steven Tyler appear in the film Be Cool. Joe Perry released his self-titled solo album that same year. At the 2006 Grammy Awards, he was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the track "Mercy", but lost to Les Paul. In October 2005, Aerosmith released a CD/DVD Rockin' the Joint. The band hit the road for the Rockin' the Joint Tour on October 30 with Lenny Kravitz for a fall/winter tour of arenas in the largest U.S. markets. The band planned to tour with Cheap Trick in the spring, hitting secondary markets in the U.S. Almost all of this leg of the tour was canceled, however. Dates were initially canceled one by one until March 22, 2006, when it was announced that lead singer Steven Tyler needed throat surgery, and the remaining dates on the tour were subsequently canceled.

Aerosmith commenced recording a new album on Armed Forces Day 2006. Tyler and Perry performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra for their annual July 4 concert on the Esplanade in 2006, a milestone as it was the first major event or performance since Steven Tyler's throat surgery. Around this time, the band also announced that they would embark on the Route of All Evil Tour with Mötley Crüe in late 2006. On August 24, 2006 it was announced that Tom Hamilton was undergoing treatment for throat cancer. In order to make a full recovery, he sat out much of the Route of All Evil Tour until he was well again. Former Joe Perry Project bassist David Hull substituted for Hamilton until his return. On September 5, 2006, Aerosmith kicked off the Route of All Evil Tour with Mötley Crüe in Columbus, Ohio. The co-headlining tour took both bands to amphitheaters across North America through November 24. After that, a select few arena dates were added, some of which were with Mötley Crüe. The tour ended December 17.

On October 17, 2006, the compilation album Devil's Got a New Disguise - The Very Best of Aerosmith was released. The album contained previous hits with the addition of two new songs, "Devil's Got a New Disguise" and "Sedona Sunrise", which were older outtakes re-recorded for the album. "Devil's Got a New Disguise" peaked at #15 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album was intended to fulfill Aerosmith's contract with Sony and tide fans over until the band's new studio album was released.

In early 2007, the band announced a new World Tour, their first for nearly a decade to include dates outside North America or Japan. The band performed at London's Hard Rock Cafe in February 2007 to promote their European tour which included a night in Hyde Park as part of the Hyde Park Calling festival sponsored by Hard Rock Cafe. In the spring, the band toured Latin America to sold-out stadium crowds. In the summer, the band toured Europe, performing at several major rock festivals and visiting some countries they had never played before. Additionally, the band played Asian countries such as the United Arab Emirates and India for the first time. The band also played a few select dates in California and Canada in late July. One such date, a July 21 concert in Prince Edward Island, was the largest in that province's history. In September, the band performed eight dates in major markets in Northeastern North America. These shows were opened by Joan Jett. The band also played a private gig in Hawaii. A public show in Hawaii was canceled for logistical reasons, which spurred a class action lawsuit against the band.

On November 1, 2007, the band began work on the final studio album of their current contract with Sony. It is believed that the album will be a mix of re-recorded tracks left off previous albums as well as brand new material. In an interview, guitarist Joe Perry revealed that in addition to creating a new album, the band was working closely with the makers of the Guitar Hero series to develop Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is dedicated to the band's music. The game was released on June 29, 2008 and contains many of their best songs. Steven Tyler announced on VH1 Classic Radio on September 4, 2008 that Aerosmith intends to enter the studio at the end of September, 2008 to complete the band's 15th studio album. It will be the band's first album of original material since 2001's Just Push Play. Tyler also confirmed that the band plans to begin a new U.S. tour in June of 2009, in support of the as-yet-untitled album. This tour was supposed to be preceded by a concert in Venezuela on February 1, 2009. However, on January 15, Tyler said the band would be unable to play the gig because of a second knee injury of guitarist Joe Perry. In mid-February 2009, it was announced that the album would be produced by the famed Brendan O’Brien and that the album would likely be recorded live, like their earlier records. The band hopes to finish the album before their tour starts in June 2009.

In addition to recording and performing music, Aerosmith has also been involved with films, television, video games, and music videos. In 1978, the band starred as the "Future Villain Band" in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Later, when the band resurrected itself in the late 1980s and 1990s, Aerosmith made further appearances, including the "Wayne's World" sketch on Saturday Night Live in 1990, the "Flaming Moe's" episode of The Simpsons in 1991, and the film Wayne's World 2 in 1993.

The band has been the subject of several video games including Revolution X in 1994, Quest for Fame in 1995, and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, in June 2008. The band has also made over 30 major music videos, and released seven home videos or DVDs.

Despite Aerosmith's popularity and success in the 1970s, it wasn't until their comeback in the late 1980s and 1990s that they started winning awards and major recognition. In 1987, Aerosmith won the Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single for the re-mix of "Walk This Way" with Run-D.M.C.. In 1990, Aerosmith won their first Grammy award, for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and went on to win a total of four such awards (all of them in the 1990s) for "Janie's Got a Gun", "Livin' on the Edge", "Crazy", and "Pink". Aerosmith is second only to U2 in the number of awards won in that category.

In addition, Aerosmith's music videos won numerous awards throughout the 1990s. Aerosmith ranks as the fourth most successful artist of all-time at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), with ten such awards to date. Aerosmith is also the all-time leader in the categories Best Rock Video (with four such awards) and Viewer's Choice (with three such awards). Aerosmith has also won once each in the categories Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Video from a Film. The videos for which Aerosmith has won VMAs are "Janie's Got a Gun" (2 awards), "The Other Side", "Livin' on the Edge", "Cryin'" (3 awards), "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)", "Pink", and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing".

Over the course of their career (primarily 1990 and after), Aerosmith has also collected seven American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, two People's Choice Awards, sixteen Boston Music Awards, and numerous other awards and honors. Some of the high accolades Aerosmith have achieved include induction into Hollywood's Rock Walk in 1990, a declaration of "Aerosmith Day" in the state of Massachusetts by then-Governor William Weld on April 13, 1993, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001., and being honored with the mtvICON award in 2002.

In the fields of technology and video games, Aerosmith has achieved several feats. In 1994, Aerosmith released the song "Head First" on the Internet, which is considered to be the first full-length commercial product available online. In 2008, Aerosmith became the first artist to have an entire Guitar Hero video game based around them with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

Aerosmith also holds several chart and album sales feats, including the second highest number of number one singles on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for a group with nine, the only number one debut on the Billboard Hot 100 by a rock group with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", and the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. From the Recording Industry Association of America, Aerosmith has achieved 25 gold, 18 platinum, and 12 multi-platinum album certifications, in addition to one diamond album and four gold singles. With 150 million albums sold worldwide and 66.5 million in the United States, Aerosmith is the second-bestselling American group (second to The Eagles) and the bestselling American hard rock band.

The Incredible Hulk (film)

The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner/the Hulk. It is not a sequel to Hulk (2003), but rather a reboot that establishes a new back-story where Banner became the Hulk as an unwitting pawn in a military scheme to reinvigorate the supersoldier program through gamma radiation. On the run, he attempts to cure himself of the Hulk before he is captured by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt), but his worst fears are realized when power-hungry soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) becomes the Abomination. Liv Tyler also stars as Betty Ross, Banner's girlfriend and General Ross's daughter.

Marvel Studios reacquired the rights to the character after the mixed reception to Hulk, and writer Zak Penn began work on a loose sequel that would be much closer to the comics and the television series. Norton rewrote the script after he signed on to star, which clarified the film's new back-story. Leterrier aimed to make the film realistic, giving a more frightening direction for the look of the monsters, while redesigning the Abomination from the comics' reptilian humanoid into a mutated man with bony protrusions. Filming mostly took place in Toronto, Canada in 2007, where the production attempted to be environmentally friendly.

The film outgrossed its predecessor and received more positive reviews, but Marvel chose to put off a possible sequel until after 2012's The Avengers. As of March 11, 2009, the film has grossed $349,183,430 in worldwide box office and North American DVD sales.

A montage during the opening credit sequence details the film's backstory and the origin of the Hulk. General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) meets with Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), the colleague and lover of his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler). He wants him to revive a World War II-era military bio-force project, but tells Banner the goal of the experiment is to make human beings immune to gamma radiation. The experiment fails, transforming Banner into the monstrous Hulk (voiced by Lou Ferrigno), and injuring Betty. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, Banner has been on the run for five years.

As the film opens, Banner works at a soda bottling factory in Rocinha while searching for a cure for his condition (through analyzing the properties of certain rare, Amazonian plants and herbs) with the help of a colleague on the Internet, known only as "Mr. Blue". He is also learning meditative breathing techniques from a martial arts expert (Rickson Gracie) to help regulate his pulse rate and keep his anger under control, and has not transformed in 158 days. After Banner cuts his finger, a drop of his blood ends up in one of the bottles, and is eventually ingested by an ill-fated consumer (Stan Lee) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This accident points Ross to Banner's location and he sends a team, led by Russian-born British special ops expert Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), to capture him. Banner escapes Blonsky by transforming into the Hulk and fighting off his team inside the bottle factory. After Ross explains how Banner first became the Hulk, a vengeful Blonsky agrees to be injected with a new super soldier serum, which gives him enhanced speed, agility, reflexes, endurance and healing.

Meanwhile, Banner returns to Culver University (where the Hulk was born) in Virginia and reunites with Betty, who is dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson (Ty Burrell). On the day he decides to leave, Ross and Blonsky's forces attack Banner at Culver University to draw out the Hulk, having been tipped off by the suspicious Samson. The Hulk wins the battle and flees with Betty. After he calms down, Banner and Betty go on the run. After several stops, Banner again makes contact with "Mr. Blue", who urges them to travel to New York City to meet him. He turns out to be cellular biologist Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), a college professor. They learn that Sterns has developed a possible antidote that may cure Banner's condition, or merely reverse each individual transformation. After a successful test, Sterns reveals that he has synthesized Banner's blood sample (which he sent from Brazil) into a large supply with the intention of using it to enhance the human condition to the next evolutionary level. Appalled by what Sterns had done and fearful of the Hulk's power falling into the wrong hands, Banner attempts to convince Sterns to destroy the blood supply, but he is attacked by Ross' forces and taken into custody with Betty.

While Sterns is interrogated with a female soldier about his work, Blonsky strikes her down and demands Sterns to inject him with Banner's blood sample. Sterns warns that the combination of the supersoldier formula (which Blonsky has overdosed on, mutating his skeleton) and a gamma treatment would be an unpredictable combination that could turn him into an "abomination" (voiced by Tim Roth). Unconcerned, Blonsky forces Sterns to administer the gamma charge, and he mutates into a powerful monster. He knocks Sterns aside and escapes, rampaging through Harlem to draw the Hulk out. At the lab, an irradiated sample of Banner's blood-derivative drips into an open wound on Sterns' temple, causing his cranium to mutate and expand.

Banner, realizing that he is the only one who can stop the monster, convinces General Ross to release him. He falls from Ross' helicopter as it hovers over the city, hoping the fall will trigger a transformation. Banner's plan succeeds, and after a brutal battle, the Hulk defeats Blonsky by nearly strangling him to death with a huge chain, relenting his grip only after Betty's plea. The Hulk then flees. Thirty-one days later, Banner is in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Instead of trying to suppress his transformations, he is attempting to initiate them in a controlled manner. As his eyes turn green, a grin appears on his face. Meanwhile, General Ross is drinking in a bar when he is approached by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who reveals that a "team" is being put together.

Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk: A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into the Hulk when stressed, enraged, or excited. David Duchovny was a front-runner for the film before Norton's casting. Gale Anne Hurd recalled Norton's portrayals of duality in Primal Fear and Fight Club, while Norton reminded Kevin Feige of Bill Bixby, who played Banner in the TV series. Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk with Bixby, remarked Norton "has a similar physique similar personality".

Liv Tyler as Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross: Bruce's girlfriend, whom he is separated from due to his condition, and a cellular biologist. Tyler replaced actress Jennifer Connelly, who portrayed Betty Ross in the 2003 film Hulk. Tyler was attracted to the love story in the script, and was a fan of the TV show, because of the "humanity and what is going through". She was called about the role while driving to her home, and she accepted the part after a day without reading the script. Tyler and Norton spent hours discussing Bruce and Betty's life before he became the Hulk. She said filming the part "was very physical, which was fun", and compared her performance to "a deer caught in the headlights", because of Betty's shock as Bruce's unexpected return into her life.

Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky / Abomination: A Russian-born officer from the United Kingdom Special Forces loaned to General Ross. Recognizing he is past his prime, he lusts after the Hulk's power. Roth said he took the part to please his sons, who are comic-book superhero fans. As a teenager, Roth was a fan of the 1970s TV series, and he also found Leterrier's ideas "very dark and very interesting". Roth started watching the 2003 film to prepare for the part, but stopped as he did not want to be caught up in the controversy over its quality, and to compare himself to it. It was Roth who suggested Blonsky be a special forces soldier, whereas in the comics he was a KGB agent.

Leterrier is a fan of Roth's work, and felt "it's great watching a normal Cockney boy become a superhero!", but Marvel and Norton were initially reluctant to cast him. Before he was cast in Punisher: War Zone, Ray Stevenson was in discussions for the role. Roth prepared for the part by learning to fire guns and break into rooms with two experts. Roth found it tough shooting the chases, because he could not work out to show Blonsky's aging. He especially found it difficult to run while pulled with a harness, which was used to show the injected Blonsky's 30–40 mile per hour running abilities. Cyril Raffaelli performed some of Roth's stunts. Roth enjoyed the motion capture, which reminded him of fringe theatre, and he hired his trainer from Planet of the Apes to aid him in portraying the monster's movement.

William Hurt as General Ross: Betty's father, who has dedicated himself to capturing the Hulk. Letterier cast Hurt because "Ross is more physical, more explosive in this movie, and no actor goes from zero to 100 as well as William." He compared Ross to Captain Ahab. The Hulk is Hurt's favorite superhero, and his son is also a big fan of the character. Hurt found production very different from the typical "pure anxiety" of a studio movie, finding it more akin to an independent movie. He described Ross as "humiliated by Hulk's conscience: he actually sees and recognizes that it's more developed than his own, even though he's a patriot and a warrior for his country. He's sacrificed for that purpose, but at the expense at times of his humanity — which he occasionally recovers." Sam Elliott, who played Ross in the first film, would have liked to reprise the role, noting it was odd seeing someone take his part, "but I'll be looking forward to seeing this one".

Ty Burrell as Dr. Leonard Samson: The psychiatrist in a relationship with Betty during Bruce's absence. Burrell had performed with Norton in the off Broadway play Burn This in 2003, and when Leterrier met him, he recognized Burrell as the "jerk" from the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake, which was how Samson was characterized in the script before Norton rewrote it.

Additional cast members include Tim Blake Nelson as the scientist Samuel Sterns, and Robert Downey Jr. cameos as Tony Stark at the end of the film, reprising his role from Iron Man. He did it as a favor to Marvel Studios, which he acknowledged as a smart move, because when he was promoting his film he would also have to mention their other production. Hulk co-creator Stan Lee cameos as a man who becomes ill when drinking the soda poisoned by Banner's blood. Michael K. Williams appears in the film, in a role that was written for him by Norton, who is a fan of The Wire. Paul Soles, who voiced Banner in the 1966 The Marvel Superheroes cartoon, cameos as Stanley, a kindly pizza restaurant owner who helps Banner. Additionally, the late Bill Bixby appears, when a scene featuring Bixby on his TV comedy-drama The Courtship of Eddie's Father plays on a television Banner is watching at the beginning of the film. Rickson Gracie has a small role as Bruce Banner's martial arts instructor, despite his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background, he is credited as an Aikido instructor.

At the time of the release of Ang Lee's Hulk, screenwriter James Schamus was planning a sequel, featuring the Gray Hulk. He was also considering the Leader and the Abomination as villains. Marvel wanted the Abomination because he was the most famous enemy, and because he would be an actual threat to the Hulk, unlike General Ross. During the filming of Hulk, producer Avi Arad had a target May 2005 theatrical release date. On January 18, 2006 Arad confirmed Marvel Studios would be providing the money for The Incredible Hulk's production budget, with Universal distributing, because Universal did not meet the deadline for filming a sequel. Marvel felt it would be better to deviate from Ang Lee's style to continue the franchise, arguing his film was like a parallel universe one-shot comic book, and their next film needed to be, in Kevin Feige's words, "really starting the Marvel Hulk franchise". Producer Gale Anne Hurd also felt the film had to meet what "everyone expects to see from having read the comics and seen the TV series".

Louis Leterrier, who enjoyed the TV series as a child and liked the first film, had expressed interest in directing the Iron Man film adaptation. Jon Favreau had taken that project, so Marvel offered him the Hulk. Leterrier was reluctant as he was unsure if he could replicate Lee's style, but Marvel explained that was not their intent. Leterrier's primary inspiration was Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Hulk: Gray (a retelling of his first appearance). He replicated every comic book panel that he pinned-up during pre-production, from the many comics he browsed, in the final film. Leterrier said that he planned to show Bruce Banner's struggle with the monster within him, while Feige added the film would explore "that element of wish fulfillment, of overcoming an injustice or a bully and tapping into a strength that you didn't quite realize you had in yourself". Arad also said the film would be "a lot more of a love story between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross".

Zak Penn, who wrote a draft of the first film in 1996, said the film would follow up Hulk, but stressed it would be more tonally similar to the TV show and Bruce Jones' run on the comic. He compared his script to Aliens, which was a very different film to Alien, but still in the same continuity. He included two scenes from his 1996 script: Banner jumping from a helicopter to trigger a transformation, and realizing he is unable to have sex with Betty. Penn wrote three drafts, before departing in early 2007 to direct The Grand. Norton, who had rewritten previous films he starred in, wrote a new draft, which pleased the director and the studio in establishing the film as a reboot. Leterrier acknowledged the only remaining similarity between the two films was Bruce hiding in South America, and that the film was a unique reboot, as generally audiences would have expected another forty minute origin story. There were previous discussions to set the first act in Thailand. Leterrier felt audiences were left restless waiting for the character to arrive in Ang Lee's film. Gale Anne Hurd noted fans dubbed the film a "requel", a portmanteau of reboot and sequel.

Norton explained of his decision to ignore Lee's origin story, "I don't even like the phrase origin story, and I don't think in great literature and great films that explaining the roots of the story doesn't mean it comes in the beginning." "Audiences know this story," he added, " deal with it artfully." He wanted to "have revelations even in the third act about what set this whole thing in motion". The new origin story references Ultimate Marvel's take on the Hulk, which also had him created in an attempt to create supersoldiers. Norton deleted Rick Jones and toned down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s presence. He also added the scene where Banner attempts to extract a cure from a flower and his e-mailing with Samuel Sterns, which references Bruce Jones' story. Norton rewrote scenes every day. Ultimately, the Writers Guild of America decided to credit the script solely to Penn, who argued Norton had not dramatically changed his script. Journalist Anne Thompson explained "The Guild tends to favor plot, structure and pre-existing characters over dialogue." Before either Penn and Norton joined the project, an anonymous screenwriter wrote a draft and lobbied for credit.

Leterrier had to direct four units with a broken foot. Filming began on July 9, 2007. Shooting primarily took place in Toronto, because mayor David Miller is a Hulk fan and promised to be very helpful to the crew when closing Yonge Street for four nights in September to shoot the Hulk and Blonsky's clash at 125th Street. Despite messing the street with explosives and overturned burning vehicles, the crew would clean-up within twenty minutes so business could continue as normal each day. The first action sequence shot was the Culver University battle, which was filmed at the University of Toronto and Morningside Park. The filmmakers built a glass wall over a walkway at the University for when the soldiers trap him inside to smoke out the Hulk. There was also shooting in the Financial District. A factory in Hamilton, Ontario, which was due for demolition, was the interior of the Brazilian factory. The site's underground floors were used for Ross' military command center. The crew also shot part of the Hulk and the Abomination's fight on a backlot in Hamilton. Other Canadian locations included CFB Trenton and a glacier in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Afterwards, there was a week-long shoot in New York City and two weeks in Rio de Janeiro. While there, the crew shot at Rocinha, Lapa, Tijuca Forest and Santa Teresa. Filming concluded in November after eighty-eight days of filming.

The Incredible Hulk joined Toronto's Green-Screen initiative, to help cut carbon emissions and waste created during filming. Producer Gale Anne Hurd acknowledged the Hulk, being green, was a popular environmental analogy, and Norton himself was an environmentalist. Hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles were used, with low sulfur diesel as their energy source. The construction department used a sustainably harvested, locally sourced yellow pine instead of lauan for the sets, and also used zero-or low-VOC paint. The wood was generally recycled or given to environmental organizations, and paint cans were handed to waste management. In addition, they used; cloth bags; biodegradable food containers; china and silverware food utensils; a stainless steel mug for each production crew member; a contractor who removed bins; recycled paper; biodegradable soap and cleaners in the trailers and production offices; and the sound department used rechargeable batteries. The Incredible Hulk became the first blockbuster film to receive the Environmental Media Association's Green Seal, which is displayed during the end credits.

Leterrier cited the motion capture portrayals of Gollum and King Kong by Andy Serkis (from The Lord of the Rings and King Kong) as the standard he was aiming for. Norton and Roth filmed 2500 takes of different movements the monsters would make (such as the Hulk's "thunder claps"). Phosphorescent face paint applied to the actors' faces and strobe lighting would help record the most subtle mannerisms into the computer. Others including Cyril Raffaelli provided motion capture for stunts and fights, after the main actors had done video referencing. Leterrier hired Rhythm and Hues to provide the CGI, while Image Engine spent over a year working on a shot where Banner's gamma-irradiated blood falls through three factory floors into a bottle. Overall 700 effects shots were created. Motion capture aided in placing and timing of movements, but overall key frame animation by Rhythm and Hues provided the necessary "finesse superhero quality". Many of the animators and Leterrier himself provided video reference for the climactic fight.

Dale Keown's comic book artwork of the Hulk was an inspiration for his design. Leterrier felt the first Hulk had "too much fat the proportions were a little off". He explained, "The Hulk is beyond perfect so there is zero grams of fat, all chiseled, and his muscle and strength defines this creature so he’s like a tank." Visual effects supervisor Kurt Williams envisioned the Hulk's physique as a linebacker rather than a bodybuilder. A height of nine feet was chosen for the character as they did not want him to be too inhuman. To make him more expressive, computer programs controlling the inflation of his muscles and saturation of skin color were created. Williams cited flushing as an example of humans' skin color being influenced by their emotions. The animators felt green blood would make his skin become darker rather than lighter, and his skin tones, depending on lighting, either resemble an olive or even gray slate. His animation model was completed without the effects company's full knowledge of what he would be required to do: he was rigged to do whatever they imagined, in case the model was to be used for The Avengers film. The Hulk's long hair was modeled on Mike Deodato's art. He originally had a crew cut, but Leterrier decided long flopping hair imbued him with more character. Leterrier cited An American Werewolf in London as the inspiration for Banner's transformation, wanting to show how painful it was for him to change. As a nod to the live action TV series, Banner's eyes change color first when he transforms.

Leterrier changed the Abomination's design from the comics because he felt the audience would question why he resembled a fish or a reptile, instead of "an über-human" like the Hulk. Rather, his hideousness is derived from being injected multiple times into his skin, muscles and bones; creating a creature with a protruding spine and sharp bones that he can use to stab. His green skin is pale, and reflects light, so it appears orange because of surrounding fire during the climactic battle. The motion capture performers, including Roth, tried to make the character behave less gracefully than the Hulk. They modeled his posture and the way he turns his head on a shark. The character also shares Roth's tattoos. A height of eleven feet was chosen for the character. Leterrier tried to work in the character's pointed ears, but realized the Hulk would bite them off (using the example of Mike Tyson when he fought Evander Holyfield), and felt ignoring that would make the Hulk come across as stupid.

Leterrier had planned to use prosthetic makeup and animatronics to complement the computer-generated imagery that was solely used in the previous film. The make-up artists who worked on X-Men: The Last Stand were set to portray Blonsky's gradual transformation, which Zak Penn said would portray Blonsky "not used to having these properties. Like he's much heavier, and we talked about how when he walks down the sidewalk, his weight destroys the sidewalk and he's tripping. the humanization of these kinds of superhero characters, showing the effects physics may actually have on ." Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics (who created all the costumes for the Alien films since Alien 3) was in negotiations, and created two busts of the Hulk and prosthetic hands to act as stand-ins for the character. However, a full animatronic was never created as it was decided it would complicate production to set up shots for a puppet and then a computer graphic. An animatronic was used for Sterns' mutating head though.

Destruction was mostly done practically. A model of a bottling machine was smashed through a wall for when the Hulk escapes with the factory. The filmmakers used steam and dry ice for the gas used to smoke out the Hulk, and they destroyed a real Humvee by dropping a weight on it when shooting the Culver University battle. Pipes blew fire for when the Hulk strikes down the computer-generated helicopter. When Banner falls from the helicopter to trigger the Hulk into fighting the Abomination, Norton was attached to a surface held by a bar which turned 90 degrees while the camera was pulled to the ceiling to simulate falling. Leterrier felt making Norton fall that distance would render him unable to act.

Craig Armstrong was the arranger for Massive Attack, a band Leterrier was fond of and had collaborated with on Unleashed (2005). Armstrong was his first choice, which surprised Marvel, not knowing if he had scored an action film (he did compose 2001's Kiss of the Dragon). Even the temp track consisted of Armstrong's work and similar music by others. The Hulk, alongside the Green Lantern, was one of Armstrong's favorite comics as a child, although he did not see the first film.

Armstrong began composing in his home in Glasgow, Scotland with three sequences; the Hulk and Betty in the cave; the Abomination and the Hulk's alley fight; and Bruce and Betty's reunion. The majority was composed in a few weeks in Los Angeles, California, which was very intense for the director and composer. The score was recorded over four days during late April 2008 in a chapel in Bastyr University, located in Kenmore, Washington. Pete Lockett played ethnic instruments in the score, which were recorded in London and mixed together with the orchestra and electronics.

The Hulk and the Abomination both have two themes, representing their human and monstrous forms. The Hulk's theme was meant to be iconic and simple, like Jaws (1975), with string glissandos on a base C note. Banner's theme is tragic and includes parts of Joe Harnell's "The Lonely Man" theme from the television series. Armstrong played the piano for one scene featuring that piece. Blonsky has a dark theme, which becomes aggressive when he transforms. Armstrong interplayed the Hulk and the Abomination's themes during their battle, and found scoring the action sequences similar to a dance. There is also a suspenseful theme, and a love theme.

Leterrier suggested the score be released on two discs, which Armstrong believed to be a joke. Only when he compiled the album – and Marvel asked why they were only given one disc – did he realize they were serious.

Seventy minutes of footage, mostly dealing with the origin, were not included in the final cut. Much of this back-story was unscripted and the filmmakers were never sure of including it into the final cut, and had considered releasing some of these clips on the internet. Editor Kyle Cooper, creator of the Marvel logo (with the flipping pages) and the montage detailing Iron Man's biography in that film, edited together much of this footage into the opening credits. Leterrier explained a negative test screening, where flashbacks were placed across the film that the audience found too similar to Hulk, had resulted in compressing these to the film's start. This replaced the original opening, where Banner comes to the Arctic to commit suicide. Leterrier said he did not want this scene to be lost amid the opening montage.

Universal and its promotional partners have tried to position The Incredible Hulk as a franchise reboot similar to Batman Begins. Effort was made to promote the story as having a romance and a physical antagonist, and the title was used for promotional puns (such as 7-Eleven's "Incredible Gulp" slurpees, and "Incredible Dad" themed Father's Day gifts at Kmart). Burger King also promoted the film, and General Nutrition Centers used the title character as a role model for strength training. Hasbro created the toy line, which they released on May 3, 2008, while Sega released a video game on June 5, 2008. The film was promoted in an episode of American Gladiators on June 9, 2008, which was hosted by Hulk Hogan and featured Lou Ferrigno.

Following the edit dispute, Universal's Adam Fogleson and Norton planned a promotional tour which would avoid constant media interviews and therefore uncomfortable questions. He attended the premiere, took part in a Jimmy Kimmel Live! sketch and would also promote the film in Japan. However, during the film's release he chose to do charity work in Africa.

The film was released on June 13, 2008, and in its opening weekend, grossed $55.4 million in 3,505 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office. The previous film earned $62.1 million in its opening weekend, but dropped 70% in its second weekend. The second film by comparison, dropped 60% in its second weekend. Behind Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, it was the second-highest gross for a film released over a Father's Day weekend. This surpassed the Los Angeles Times's report of expectations of a $45 million opening, following the disappointing response to the 2003 film. Universal believed word of mouth will contribute to the film eventually breaking even. A CinemaScore poll indicated the majority of viewers were male and graded the film an A-, and 82% of them had seen the 2003 film.

Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald applauded that the film "does a lot of things Lee's Hulk didn't: It's lighter and faster-paced, it's funnier and it embraces (instead of ignoring) the 1970s TV series that furthered the character's popularity". Mark Rahner of The Seattle Times wrote that, "The relaunch of Marvel's green goliath is an improvement over director Ang Lee's ponderous 2003 Hulk in nearly every way — except that the actual Hulk still looks scarcely better than something from a video game, and he still barely talks". Lou Lumenick of The New York Post said, "What lingers in my memory ... is the lengthy, essentially animated climactic battle between the Hulk and the Abomination on the streets and rooftops of Harlem, and an earlier showdown between the title creature and the U.S. Army, which is deploying high-tech weapons including sound-wave cannons. These are expertly staged by director Louis Leterrier, who disposes of the backstory under the opening credits and wraps up the whole thing in twenty-four minutes less than Lee took".

Conversely, Christy Lemire of the Associated Press found that "the inevitable comparisons to Iron Man, Marvel Studios' first blockbuster this summer, serve as a glaring reminder of what this Hulk lacks: wit and heart. Despite the presence of Edward Norton, an actor capable of going just as deep as Robert Downey Jr., we don't feel a strong sense of Bruce Banner's inner conflict". A.O. Scott of The New York Times opined, "'The Adequate Hulk' would have been a more suitable title. There are some big, thumping fights and a few bright shards of pop-cultural wit, but for the most part this movie seems content to aim for the generic mean". David Ansen of Newsweek wrote, "Leterrier has style, he's good with action and he's eager to give the audience its money's worth of bone-crunching battles. Still, once the movie leaves the atmospheric Brazilian settings, nothing in this "Hulk" sinks in deeply: its familiar genre pleasures are all on the surface. ... The movie's scene stealer is Tim Blake Nelson, making a comically welcome third act appearance as the unethical but madly enthusiastic scientist Samuel Sterns".

The film was nominated for best superhero film at the 2008 National Movie Awards and for Best Science Fiction Film at the Saturn Awards.

The film was #1 in sales when released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 21 2008 in the United States (having been available in the United Kingdom since October 13). There are widescreen and fullscreen single-disc editions; a three-disc special edition; and a two-disc Blu-ray package. The first disc contains an audio commentary by Leterrier and Roth, while the second comes with special features and deleted scenes, and the third with a digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray edition compresses the content of the first two DVD discs onto one, while the second disc contains the digital copy. The package features a green border, marking the first time the Blu-ray case for a film is not blue. So far, it made $85,755,879 in home video sales, bringing its total film gross to $349,183,430.

Samuel Sterns, played by Tim Blake Nelson, was introduced to set him up as a villain in a future film, where he would become the Leader. Nelson hopes Marvel will ask him to reprise the role. Aaron Sims, the lead designer on The Incredible Hulk, also took time to work on concepts for the Leader. Nelson is signed on to reprise the role. Gale Anne Hurd noted because the Leader is a cerebral villain, it would allow them to reinterpret the Hulk himself. Ty Burrell wants to portray the superpowered Doc Samson faithfully to the comics. Norton said, "The whole thing was to envision it in multiple parts. We left a lot out on purpose. is definitely intended as chapter one." Leterrier made the film's final shot of Banner ambiguous; the thought being if there is a sequel, it would mean Banner finally masters control over his anger; if there is not a sequel, the shot indicates instead that in the scheduled 2012 feature The Avengers, he becomes a menace. Leterrier had also intended for a scene in the credits showing Blonsky, human once more, imprisoned and chained in a box.

Leterrier and Roth are contracted to return. Leterrier also stated Norton was not signed on, but in October 2008, Hurd stated he was contracted to reprise the role. The film has outgrossed its predecessor and Universal indicated interest in a sequel. However, by July 21, Leterrier believed a sequel would not be made because of the film's box office return. Leterrier is confident that the character will appear in The Avengers, even if Marvel does not ask Norton to fulfill his contract. Kevin Feige said the film met Marvel's expectations and that Hulk will return, but after the crossover. Hurd is not concerned that a sequel may not be produced until at least 2012 onwards, citing the positive reception to the film and having produced the Terminator series, the second and third film of which had a twelve year gap.

Steven Tyler

Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948 in Yonkers, New York), better known as Steven Tyler, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as the lead singer and primary lyricist of Boston-based rock band Aerosmith.

Tyler is known for his raw, sharp-edged vocals and is musically versatile, playing a wide range of instruments, including the harmonica, keyboards, and several percussion instruments. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler was also known for his heavy drug and alcohol abuse, though he completed drug rehabilitation in 1986 and has since maintained sobriety for over 20 years. During his high-energy stage performances, he usually dresses in bright colorful outfits with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand. He was recently named 99th on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers.

Steven Tyler was born Steven Victor Tallarico: on the paternal side of his family, he is of Italian (his grandfather Giovanni Tallarico was born in Cotronei, Calabria) and German descent. His maternal background is Cherokee and Ukrainian.

Tyler was born in New York, NY on March 26, 1948. He was the second of two children and had one older sister, Lynda. His family later moved to Yonkers, NY, where he attended Roosevelt High School. He was expelled from Roosevelt for drug use and later graduated from Jose Quintano's School for Young Professionals. Before working as a professional musician, Tyler says he worked several odd jobs, including a stint at a bakery.

Music has always played a large role in Tyler's life as he was the son of a classical musician who helmed the Vic Tallarico Orchestra. His father taught music at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx for many years. Steven Tyler also took a liking to blues and in the 1960s, he was a drummer and singer in a variety of local rock and roll bands including The Strangeurs then changed to Chain Reaction, The Chain, and William Proud. Tyler spent time in the summers of his youth in the New Hampshire lakes region where he met his future bandmates. He has residences in Marshfield, MA, Sunapee, NH, Cape Cod, New York City, and Los Angeles.

In 1969, Tyler attended a local rock show in Sunapee, New Hampshire where he first saw future bandmates Joe Perry (guitars) and Tom Hamilton (Bass). Tyler later stated he was struck by their raw power and mean attitude. Around 1970, the band moved to Boston, Massachusetts and shared a small apartment on Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton. Former mate of Tyler's from New York, Joey Kramer was recruited to play drums and later, they added a second guitarist, Brad Whitford who replaced Tyler's boyhood friend Ray Tabano.

After spending time on the Boston club circuit, under the tutelage of their first manager, Frank Connelly, the band began working with New York managers Steve Leber and David Krebs. They subsequently signed a record deal in 1971 and released their eponymous debut album in 1973. It was followed by Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic, Rocks, and Draw the Line, which catapulted Aerosmith to international fame and recognition. These albums produced legendary hits like "Dream On", "Walk This Way", and "Sweet Emotion". Aerosmith's first five albums have also all gone multi-platinum, and all five are considered to be among the greatest hard rock albums of all time. However, as the decade wore on, the fast-paced life of touring, recording, living together, and using drugs began to take its toll on the band.

Tyler and Perry were often called the Toxic Twins, for their legendary intake of stimulants and heroin. Their relationship is well documented in many of Aerosmith's video releases as well as in the Aerosmith Behind the Music.

On the 14th of February, 1984, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, who left the band in 1979 and 1981 respectively, showed up to an Aerosmith show. According to the band's Behind the Music special on VH1, Tyler alleges he made the first phone call to Joe Perry encouraging them to meet up again. Backstage, they all met and Perry and Whitford agreed to join the band once again.

Aerosmith embarked on a reunion tour called, "The Back in the Saddle Tour," and proceeded to record once again. One problem was still remaining, however, and that was the drug addictions of the band members, especially Tyler, who had collapsed onstage during several performances in the early 1980s and had long suffered a heroin addiction. Aerosmith's new manager Tim Collins and the rest of the reunited band knew that they wouldn't get anywhere with their leader Steven Tyler still under the heavy influence of drugs. In 1986, they held a meeting in which they pressured Tyler into entering a strict drug rehabilitation program.

After Tyler had completed drug rehab, every other member of Aerosmith eventually went into rehab and all had successfully exited their respective programs at various times in the mid-late 1980s. Since then, all members have refrained from using drugs and alcohol, and even legendarily went so far as to forbid tourmates Guns N' Roses from using any drugs or alcohol in front of Aerosmith members, with the threat of being instantly dismissed from the tour.

In 1985, Aerosmith released their comeback album Done With Mirrors, which produced generally lacklustre results for the band. In 1986, however, Tyler and Perry collaborated with Run-D.M.C. for a remake of Aerosmith's 1975 hit "Walk This Way", which hit #4 on the charts and was recently in Rolling Stone Magazine as song #27 for top 100 songs that changed the world. "Walk This Way" introduced both rap music and Aerosmith to a new generation, as well as helping sow the seeds for a major comeback. Aerosmith came back big in 1987 with Permanent Vacation, which charted three Top 20 singles and sold five million copies. The band followed up in 1989 with Pump and once again in 1993 with Get a Grip, both of which sold seven million copies apiece and launched the band into global superstardom, well eclipsing their success in the 1970s. The three albums won critical acclaim for their innovative musical styles, featured a dozen Top 40 singles, produced theatrical music videos, and won the band dozens of awards. Aerosmith's subsequent touring and appearance on television and in film turned the band into one of the biggest pop culture icons. Steven Tyler, as the frontman for the group, became a symbol for the band, a pop icon, and a household name in his own right.

The band took a healthy break in 1995 to spend time with their families, in the wake of their grueling lifestyle of the previous ten years, under the helm of manager Tim Collins, who helped orchestrate much of the band's comeback and sustained success. However, Aerosmith almost came to a screeching halt as Collins pressured the exhausted band members and spread rumors that the band was breaking up and that Steven Tyler was being unfaithful to his wife and using drugs again, all of which were lies. He was subsequently fired. This, along with a producer change, delayed the recording process for Nine Lives, which was finally released in 1997. While not coming close to the sales figures of Get a Grip, it still went double platinum, and the band managed to stay on top and toured for over two years in support of the album.

In 1997, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were featured in a commercial for the GAP, performing a bluesy number with Tyler on harmonica. This was part of an ad campaign by Gap featuring a variety of music artists.

In 1998, while on tour in support of the album Nine Lives, Steven Tyler suffered a ligament injury when his mic stand came crashing into his knee. Tyler and the band finished the show, but they had to cancel several dates and Tyler still had trouble walking for the filming of the video for "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", which hit #1 on the charts that year. Surprisingly enough, that has been their only #1 hit to date.

The beginning of the 21st century saw Aerosmith spotlight at the Super Bowl XXXV Halftime Show, be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and release another platinum album.

Since 2001, Aerosmith has launched a successful tour every year and has maintained an active role in the music industry, recording the albums Just Push Play (2001) and Honkin' on Bobo (2004). In addition to this, Steven Tyler has kept busy with a variety of side projects and guest appearances.

On 27 May, 2001, at the 85th Indianapolis 500, Steven Tyler sang the national anthem of the USA. He came under criticism when he replaced "home of the brave'" with "home of the Indianapolis 500." He immediately apologized and reaffirmed his patriotism after the incident.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the band performed at the benefit concert "United We Stand" in Washington, D.C. Tyler donned a full-length jacket featuring the American flag and the band performed a brief set including the moving numbers "Livin' on the Edge" and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", which seemed to take on new meaning in wake of the attacks. The band flew back to Indianapolis to perform a show that same night.

In 2004, Tyler appeared in a television commercial for Sony digital cameras. "The Grind", from Aerosmith's Honkin' on Bobo, is also featured.

The 2004 Christmas movie The Polar Express featured Steven Tyler singing the lyrics to a rocking number entitled "Rockin' on Top of the World" as well as a group of computer-animated elves resembling Aerosmith performing the song.

While Joe Perry kept busy in 2005 with his self-titled solo album, Steven Tyler kept busy with a variety of projects. That year, he sang lead vocals on Santana's hit single "Just Feel Better". Tyler also made a cameo appearance in the film Be Cool which stars John Travolta and Uma Thurman. In the film, Steven Tyler does a duo of "Cryin'" with upcoming singer Linda Moon (played by Christina Milian).

In 2006, after healing from throat surgery and the grueling Rockin' the Joint Tour, Steven Tyler made a noteworthy return. One noteworthy event was when he performed with Joe Perry and the Boston Pops Orchestra for the orchestra's annual Fourth of July spectacular, his first major public appearance since the surgery. During the concert, which was broadcast nationally on CBS, Tyler, Perry, and the orchestra performed a medley of "Walk This Way", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and "Dream On".

Tyler also recorded a duet with country music artist Keith Anderson, titled "Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll". The song, a remixed version of a song found on Anderson's debut album, was released as a single on the U.S. Hot Country Songs charts.

Later that year, in addition to working with Aerosmith by touring and recording a new album, Tyler made several more public appearances. He made a cameo appearance on the sitcom Two and a Half Men, playing himself as a noisy, obnoxious neighbor. On October 14, 2006 Tyler sang "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch at Game #3 of the National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. On November 24, Steven volunteered by serving Thanksgiving dinner to the needy at a restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida before an Aerosmith show there.

In 2007, Tyler kept active in Aerosmith with the band's world tour which saw them perform in 19 countries.

On 14 July 2008, Tyler's mother, Susan Ray Tallarico, died aged 84.

On July 18, 2008, Steven Tyler appeared with Billy Joel at the last concert to be played at Shea Stadium. Backed by Joel's band, he sang lead vocals on "Walk This Way".

In August 2008, HarperCollins has won an auction to publish the autobiography of Steven Tyler.

In December 2008, he made a surprise appearance at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concerts at Nassau Coliseum (12/12/2008) and the Izod Center (12/13/2008). He was the "surprise finale." At the Izod Center, he collaborated with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion".

Tyler is known for his sharp-edged, raw vocals, and has several signature screams, which can be heard in the songs "Dream On" and "Nine Lives". Steven Tyler also consistently employs falsetto and is known for his scat singing, in which he sings unintelligeble words that mimic the sound of the music, particularly the guitar. His distinctive vocal delivery has influenced many of his contemporaries like Axl Rose.

Tyler is also known for his usage of the microphone stand as a significant part of his performances. He almost always uses the microphone stand in concert, except in rare instances, usually when guest performing at another artist's concert. Tyler dresses his microphone stand with colorful scarves. In the 1970s, when he was using drugs, he would often hide tuinals and other illegal substances in the scarves for his use onstage. He is extremely defensive of his microphone stand, and will often get angry at fans who try to grab at the scarves. Tyler will often use the mic as a prop for mimicking sexual acts and will often swing his microphone stand in the air, and has even hit members of the band with it before, most frequently during intoxicated performances in the 1970s.

Throughout much of his career, Tyler has also been noted for playing the piano or keyboards onstage, particularly during songs such as "Dream On" and "Darkness". However, he has rarely done this since the 1980s, except during special performances, since the band employs a touring keyboardist, and the piano playing would take away from Tyler's raw performances as frontman. Nevertheless, his piano and keyboard playing continues to be an integral part of the band in the studio, as Tyler will often write songs this way.

Tyler is also known for his musical interplay with the other members of Aerosmith, particularly with guitarist Joe Perry. The two will often perform very close together side-by-side, particularly when Perry sings backup or adds vocal harmony, or during sit-down acoustic performances.

On September 15, 2007 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Steven announced the launch of Dirico Motorcycles (formerly Red Wing Motorcycles). Derico's bikes are designed by Steven Tyler, engineered by Mark Dirico, and built by AC Custom Motorcycles in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Steven Tyler also participates in a variety of charity auctions involving motorcycles, including the Ride for Children charity.

Steven had a brief relationship with fashion model Bebe Buell, during which he fathered actress Liv Tyler (Buell initially claimed that the father was Todd Rundgren to protect Liv from Steven's then drug addiction). In 1978, he married Cyrinda Foxe an ex-Warhol model, and the former wife of New York Dolls' lead singer David Johansen, and fathered plus-sized model Mia Tyler. He and Foxe divorced in 1987; in 1997, she published Dream On: Livin' on the Edge With Steven Tyler and Aerosmith, a memoir of her life with Tyler. Cyrinda Foxe died from brain cancer in 2002. He has one grandson, Milo William Langdon (born December 14, 2004 in New York City), from daughter Liv's marriage to British musician Royston Langdon.

In 1988, he married clothing designer Teresa Barrick. He fathered two children: a daughter, Chelsea Tallarico (March 6, 1989), and a son, Taj Monroe Tallarico (January 30, 1992). In February 2005, the couple announced that they were separating due to personal problems. In January 2006 the divorce was official. Tyler is currently dating Erin Brady. This "rocky two-year relationship" is believed to be behind Tyler's recent stay in rehab, due to his current girlfriend's "penchant" for overindulging and bar brawling.

On March 22, 2006, the Washington Post reported that Tyler would undergo surgery for an "undisclosed medical condition." A statement from Tyler's publicist read in part, "Despite Aerosmith's desire to keep the tour going as long as possible, doctors advised him not to continue performing to give his voice time to recover." Aerosmith's remaining North American tour dates in 2006 on the Rockin' the Joint Tour were cancelled as a result.

The surgery, to correct a popped blood vessel in his throat, was a success. In the words of Tyler: "He just took a laser and zapped the blood vessel." After a few weeks of rest, Steven Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith entered the studio on May 20, 2006 to begin work on their new album. A tour launched later in fall 2006 with Mötley Crüe, titled the Route of All Evil Tour.

On July 3 and 4th, 2006, Tyler and Joe Perry hit the stage on the Boston Waterfront with the Boston Pops Orchestra and sang the songs "Dream On", "Walk This Way", and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" as part of the Boston 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The concert was notable as Tyler's first public performance since the surgery.

Steven Tyler's throat surgery was featured in 2007 on an episode of the National Geographic Channel series, Incredible Human Machine.

In a September 2006 interview with Access Hollywood, Steven Tyler revealed that he had been suffering from Hepatitis C for the past 10 years. He was first diagnosed with the disease in 2003 and had undergone extensive treatment from 2003-2006, including 11 months of interferon therapy, which he said was "agony". He states that he is now hepatitis-free.